


An End And A Start

by ladstars



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-21 02:41:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 44
Words: 233,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6034885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladstars/pseuds/ladstars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The day Carm gets traded to Boston through the end of the season (and maybe beyond). CRS days '13.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So i wrote this then realized it's kindy gloomy. oops. I don't know if i'm gonna continue with it or not

Ella slams the door as she enters the apartment. She looks around the room quickly, spotting the person she is looking for in the living room portion of the open floor plan that holds the kitchen and living room areas.

She stomps into the living room and stands in front of the couch, puts her hands on her hips, and stares down the woman sitting on the couch before her with a dog on her lap.

“Did she tell you about this?” Ella huffs, frustrated and upset.

Erin bites her bottom lip. She knows what Ella is referring to. She nods.

Carm comes in the door and Ella looks over in her direction. “You told her.” Ella says, pointing to Erin, but looking at Carm. Carm shrugs and drops her bag by the door, shutting it.

“When?” Ella asks, looking back to Erin.

“Ella, please?” Carm comes over to the couch, standing next to Ella. “She was here when I got the call this morning. “I was in shock at first and Erin was here. She asked what was up. It was just natural to tell her. We are old friends. I just- it is what it is.”

Ella sighs. She realizes she’s making a bigger deal out of this then she should be. Trades happen all the time in sports. It’s not out of the question or uncommon. She was just caught off guard when Carm pulled her aside just before they taped The Ella and Carm Show episode and has been upset about it ever since.

“Sorry, guys. I didn’t mean to jump down your throats. I’m just-“ Ella hangs her head. “I’m gonna head home. I’ll see you guys later.” Ella feels like she needs to be by herself for a little while.

“Ella, no, you can hang out here for a while.” Carm says. She feels bad for dumping this news on Ella today but she didn’t have a choice. Carm’s leaving the next day for Boston.

“No. It’s fine. I’ll come back later. I’ve got some stuff I want to do right now.” It’s not the entire truth. Ella just doesn’t want to be around people right now. She’ll find something to do in her apartment or go for a run to distract her thoughts for a while. “I’ll be back later.” Ella slips by Carm, around the couch, and over to the door. She’s out of the Canadians apartment without another word.

“I feel terrible.” Carm flops down on the couch.

“Yeah, it’s a sucky situation.” Erin pats Carm on the leg.

“You got that right.” Carm nods.

“What ya up to this afternoon?” Erin asks looking over at her good friend.

“I have to pack up my stuff. Figure out what I want to take with me. And figure out what I want to have shipped. It’s not like I have a lot of stuff but I need to do it today.” Carm half smiles.

“Ya want help.” Erin asks.

“No. I got it.” Carm rises from the couch and turns to Erin. She looks off into the distance before coming back to Erin. “There’s one more thing.”

“What?” Erin eyes Carm curiously. She’s not concerned about Carm but Carm seems to a bit preoccupied or concerned about something.

“I need you to do something for me. After I leave.” She says vaguely.

“Okay.” Erin agrees, raising an eyebrow.

“Look after Ella for me.” Carm looks over to the door. “Not that I think she needs looking after but-“ Carm sighs and her eyes find Erin again. “She’s become like a little sister to me. I just want to know that she’s good, that she’s got somebody that she can go to for things.” Carm waves her hand in the air uselessly.

Erin sits there smirking.

Carm tilts her head to the side. “What’s with the look?”

Erin shrugs. “Don’t worry Carm. I got it covered.” Erin stands up and gets really close to Carm so she can whisper in her ear even though it’s totally unnecessary. “I think you’re forgetting something.” Erin whispers.

“Oh, I’m not forgetting.” Carm glances over at Erin. She knows there’s something going on between Erin and Ella. It’s hard to miss when they are around each other. “I’m just making sure.” She smirks.

Erin and Carm both smile at each other.

“I got it. Don’t worry.”

“You be careful, McLeod. Like I said, she’s like a little sister to me. Don’t do anything to hurt her.” Carm warns.

Erin raises her right hand in the air. “I won’t.” She walks away from Carm and grabs her keys off the counter. “I’m going to the store. You pack.” Erin walks out the door.

* * *

 

Erin pushes the door open and enters the apartment. Ella follows closely behind her. Carm is in the living room playing with Max. Her bags are by the apartment door ready to go. Max hears Erin and Ella come in and runs over to them. Erin picks him up. “You ready to go?”

“I’m ready.” Carm says, coming over to them.

“I was talking to Max.” Erin looks over to Carm and half-smiles.

Carm rolls her eyes. “Yeah. Okay. Let’s go.” Carm grabs her two bags and they head out.

The car ride to the airport is quiet. They listen to the radio quietly. Max sits on Erin’s lap in the back. Ella drives and Carm sits in the passenger’s seat. There isn’t much of a conversation. Just a few comments here and there about things they see on the way.

Ella pulls up outside the airport and the three get out of the car. They had all said their big goodbyes yesterday. Erin gets Carm’s bags out of the car while Ella wraps Carm in a big hug.

“I’m gonna miss you.” Ella whispers.

“I’ll see you again before you know it. We’ll text and call and Facetime. It’ll be fine.” Carm says lightheartedly. She doesn’t need a repeat of the day before where Ella broke down in tears more than once.

Ella nods and hugs Carm just a little tighter before letting go. She takes a step back, looking down at the ground, and wipes under her eyes.

It’s Erin’s turn. She goes in for a quick hug. “Safe travels, buddy. See ya in a couple months.” She steps back and they share a smile.

“Yep. I think I got the better end of the deal today.” Carm nods over to Ella. Who is walking around the car to get back in. Erin glances over quick and then back to Carm nodding without saying anything. “Well, I better get a move on. See ya.” Carm picks up her bags and heads into the airport.

Erin gets back in the car. In the passenger’s seat. Max jumps from Ella’s lap to Erin’s. “Hey, bud.” Erin says to the dog. “Were you keeping Ella company for me?” He looks up at Erin, wagging his tail happily. “You’re such a good boy but you’re gonna have to sit in the back seat on the way home, okay?” She tells the dog. Max tilts his head to the side like he understands but doesn’t like the idea. Erin smiles and turns to put Max in the back seat.

Ella has pulled out of the unloading zone and they’re already on their way out of the airport. Erin looks over at Ella as they drive. She’s not crying but she has that sad look on her face. Erin watches her and as soon as they pull out of the airport area and are on the road again Erin reaches over and takes Ella’s hand in hers.

Ella looks over at Erin quickly before turning her eyes back to the roadway. Erin smiles and squeezes Ella’s hand. “You wanna hang out at my place when we get back?” Erin asks. Ella nods. “Okay.” They ride in silence back to the apartment.

Erin tells Ella to go inside and pick out a movie for them to watch, that she is going to take Max for a quick walk around the block and then be in.

When Erin gets to her apartment Ella is sitting on the couch with her head against the back with her eyes closed. Erin gets Max some water and goes over to her. “Hey.” Erin says. Ella opens her eyes and looks to Erin with a tight-lipped smile. “How you doing?”

Ella takes a deep breath. “I didn’t think it would hit me this hard. Carm and I became fast friends. She’s had a huge influence on my life in the last six months or so.”

“You’ll see her again soon.” Erin says sitting down next to Ella.

Ella sighs. “I know. I just- I don’t know.” She shakes her head.

Erin wraps her arm around Ella and pulls her into her side. Ella rests her head on Erin’s shoulder. “What movie did you pick?” Erin asks.

“It’s all ready to go. You just have to turn on the tv.” Ella hands Erin the remote and Erin presses the power button. She chuckles when the home screen for Beauty and the Beast pops up. “Is this okay?” Ella asks, looking up at Erin through her eyelashes.

“This is perfect.” Erin smiles and starts the movie.

Max comes over and lays down in his doggie bed at the foot of the couch for a nap.

Ella falls asleep a few minutes into the movie. Erin presses a kiss to her forehead and keeps a hold of her as she sleeps. Erin enjoys the movie and Ella wakes up about fifteen minutes before the end. “Hey, sleepyhead.” Erin smiles down at Ella.

Ella ducks her head. “Did I fall asleep?” Ella asks shyly.

“Yeah, but hey don’t worry about it.” Erin assures her.

“Thank you.”

“For what?” Erin asks, curious.

“For taking care of me right now. I’m kind of a mess. I should probably hide back to my apartment when the movie’s done.” Ella says looking down.

“Hey.” Erin reaches out and tilts Ella chin up. “I said, don’t worry, didn’t I?” Ella nods. “Do you have plans for the rest of the day?” Erin asks.

Ella shakes her head. “No.”

“Good. Would you like to stick around?” Erin asks casually. “I was thinking of working on a painting. But I don’t have to. We could do something else. Whatever you want. I could get the keyboard out or something. Do you want to play a board game? I have a few. Or we could go out. Take Max for a walk, go to the park. What do you want to do?”

Ella smiles. “You’re very sweet.” Erin smiles shyly and shrugs. “You do your artwork. I’ll watch tv. Watch you work. If that’s okay?”

Erin nods vigorously.

Erin works on her painting and Ella watches Erin work. The tv plays but Ella pays more attention to Erin than anything that’s happening on the tv.

“Are you evening watching that?” Erin catches Ella staring at her.

“What?”

Erin chuckles. “Nevermind. How about I make us some dinner?”

“Okay.” Ella says in a daze.

Erin cleans up her art stuff. “You stay here. Relax. Play with Max.” She tells Ella. Erin knows how much Ella likes playing with the dog. She’s hoping that does the trick and puts Ella in a better mood, puts a smile on her face.

Erin goes into the kitchen and starts on dinner. It isn’t long before Ella joins her. “I thought I said I would cook. You should relax.”

“I wanted to be in here- with you.” Ella says awkwardly.

Erin smiles. “Okay. Can you set us two spots at the island counter to eat. Glasses, silverware, plates, that sort of thing.” Ella nods. “Okay good.” Erin goes back to her cooking but Ella just stands there awkwardly. Erin looks back to her. “Yes?” Ella steps forward and wraps her arms around Erin from the side. It’s a bit uncomfortable for Erin but she doesn’t say anything about it.

“Can I stay here tonight?” Ella whispers. She finds being around Erin comfortable, comforting. She feels safe, protected and that’s what she needs right now.

Erin sighs. “Of course.”

“Thanks.” Ella mumbles and drops her arm that was around Erin’s front but keeps the one around her back, her hand on Erin’s opposite hip. She lays her head on Erin’s shoulder and watches as Erin cooks stir-fry chicken on the stove. “That looks yummy.”

“It is.” Erin says with a smile. “And it’s almost done. So I’m gonna need plates.” Erin hints at the task Ella was supposed to do.

“Okay.” Ella gets out two plates, two glasses, and two forks and sets them on the counter.

They eat quietly. Max has his dinner too. “What do you want to do tonight?” Erin asks when they are almost finished eating. Ella shrugs. “Watch another movie?”

“No. I don’t want to do that.” Ella says glumly. Nothing really sounds like any fun to her right now.

“Okay. Let’s clean up from dinner. I’ll take Max for his nightly walk and you text Lori and Taryn and tell them where you’ll be. I’ll come back and we’ll think of something. Okay?”

“Okay.” Ella says.

Erin reaches for Ella’s plate to start on the dishes. She stands. Ella reaches out and wraps her hand around Erin’s wrist. “Wait.” They look at each other. Ella takes a deep breath and stands up. She leans in and presses a kiss to Erin’s cheek. “Okay.” She says after the kiss, telling Erin she can go.

Erin stands there in shock, looking at the girl who just kissed her. It wasn’t a real kiss. But it was a meaningful kiss. It’s not even the first kiss between the two but there have only been a couple of those. “I- what-“ Erin stutters.

Ella smiles shyly. “Let’s do the dishes. You take Max out and then we can talk.” She says.

Erin nods. “Okay.” She gulps down the lump in her throat and goes to the sink to start on dishes. Her mind spins with all the possible things Ella might want to talk about.

Over the last month or so they’ve gotten to know each other really well. Ella’s been spending more time with Erin and less with Carm in the last couple of weeks. There’s a connection between them. They both know it and feel it. It’s even been discussed once. Erin admitted that she was starting to have more than friendly feelings for Ella. And Ella had admitted that she was unsure of her feelings but that there was something there. That there was something that she felt for Erin that wouldn’t go away.

They had agreed at the time to not do anything about it. That Erin was recently out of a relationship and Ella wasn’t certain of anything in her life anymore. They agreed to hang out and continue doing what they were doing and see what happened. Along the way there were lingering touches, and looks. Even a couple of kisses on cheeks.

* * *

 

When Erin comes back in, Ella is sitting at the table scrolling through her phone. Erin goes over to her. “Max is good for the night.” Erin says quietly.

“Okay.” Ella looks up from her phone. “He’s such a good boy.”

“You should’ve see him when he was a puppy. A holy terror. All that puppy energy. It was crazy.” Erin smiles at the memories of puppy Max. He was so cute but so full of energy.

Ella smiles. “Do you have pictures?” She asks.

Erin nods. “Sure. I’ll show you some time. Just not tonight.” She holds out her hand, palm up. “Ready?” Erin asks.

Ella nods and takes Erin’s hand. Erin leads Ella down the hall to her bedroom. She turns to Ella once they enter the room. “Welcome.” She grins and bows.

It gets a smile from Ella. “I’ve been in your room before, silly.”

Erin makes a goofy face. “Welcome again, then.” She releases Ella’s hand and goes over to the closet. “I’m gonna change. You want something to change into?” Erin looks over her shoulder at Ella.

Ella debates what the best answer to Erin’s question is. They wear each other’s shirt sometimes. T-shirts and cutoffs, that sort of thing but it’s never talked about. Or asked. Erin asking her somehow seems very personal, intimate. “I’m good.” She says. Ella’s wearing a t-shirt and leggings.

“Okay.” Erin turns back to the closet and pulls out a pair of athletic shorts and a t-shirt to sleep in and starts changing. Ella goes over to the bed and sits down on the edge, looking out the window, with her back to Erin.

Erin gets onto the bed when she’s finished changing. She crawls up behind Ella and rests her chin on Ella’s shoulder. “Whatcha thinking about?” She whispers and slides her palms down Ella’s arms from the shoulder to the elbow.

Ella shrugs. “What all of this mean?”

Erin sits back, removing herself from Ella at Ella’s serious tone. “What all of what mean? Carm leaving?” Erin asks. She’s not sure what Ella is referring to.

“Yes and no. Just all of it. Everything that’s happening right now.” Ella shrugs and looks over her shoulder, back at Erin.

“Ella, I don’t think- are you talking about me and you?” Erin sometimes has a hard time understanding what Ella means when she says things. It’s like she talks in code. But, Erin’s learning.

“Yes and no.” Ella turns so that she’s sitting sideways on the edge of the bed so she can see Erin better while they speak. “Carm leaving. Whatever is happening between us. The team. How much playing time I’m getting. All of it. I don’t know what’s what anymore. I just feel so overwhelmed most of the time trying to make sense of it.”

“Life doesn’t always make sense.” Erin says wisely.

Ella smiles sadly. “Yeah.”

“Ella, I’m not sure about everything. I do know about you and me though. I know that whatever is happening, I want it to continue. I won’t pressure you or anything but I want you to know that. I really like you but if it’s something you can’t do then I understand. Sure, I’ll be bummed but we could always be friends.” Erin lays it out there. She knows Ella is a religious person. She knows she believes certain things and has certain rules she abides by. Erin’s not gonna get overly hopeful but she really likes Ella.

Ella nods, not looking at Erin anymore. She feels bad. Erin is patient. Erin is kind and good hearted.

“Does that help?” Erin asks.

“Not really.” Ella shakes her head and falls onto her back in frustration. She rubs at her face with her hands.

“What can I do to help?” Erin asks. She hates to see Ella struggling.

“Not much.” Ella looks over at Erin, who is sitting on the bed next to her. “I just need to figure it all out.”

“Maybe you don’t. We can’t do anything about things that are beyond our control.” Erin tells her. Ella raises an eyebrow at Erin. She explains further. “You can’t do anything about Carm being traded. You can’t do anything more than you’re already doing about the line-up. You work hard. As hard as anyone else out there on the pitch. Harder even. You can’t control who coach puts in the game.” Erin licks her lips. “And you can’t control feelings. That’s why they are called feelings. You can make choice to go in one direction or another but there are things that are beyond control.”

“How are you so smart?” Ella smiles.

Erin shrugs. “I’m not that smart.” She downplays it.

Ella rolls onto her side and pats the bed. “Lay down with me.” Erin nods and does as she’s told. Laying on her side facing Ella. “You might be right.” Ella picks the subject back up. “There are things I can’t control. Maybe I should just go with the flow and not worry about what happens so much.”

“Maybe.” Erin says.

“You make me see things, life, in a different way, a different light. Thank you for that.” Ella says eyeing the girl in front of her.

“Sure.” Erin says offhandedly.

Ella gets closer to Erin. “I mean it. And thank you for today. I don’t know what I would have done otherwise.”

“You would’ve been fine. You’re big, strong Ella Masar.” Erin jokes to try to lighten the mood.

Ella smiles. “Muscles only.” She whispers. Ella closes the distance between them and presses her lips to Erin’s.

Erin takes a breath in, surprised. The kiss is over almost before she can register it in her brain. But, it’s a kiss she’ll never forget. Ella grows shy before her. Erin reaches out, wrapping Ella in her arms, pulling them together.

“It’s been a long day. Let’s get some sleep.” Erin says. Ella nods into the crook of Erin’s neck.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey look i wrote more

The next morning Max jumps up on the bed walking up, over Erin’s body, until he finds her face. He starts licking her to get her to wake up.

“Maxwell. Stop.” Erin groans and throws her head from side to side. The dog stops and stands still while Erin moves her head. When she stops he barks and licks her face again.

Ella groans beside Erin. “Max.”

“Sorry. Did he wake you?” Erin holds Max down so he can’t lick her anymore and looks over at Ella. Blonde hair splayed out messily around Ella’s head.

Sleepy hazel eyes look back at Erin. “Yes.”

It’s a bit awkward. Neither Erin or Ella is sure of what to do right now.

“Well, Max has to go out or there is going to be a puddle here in a few minutes.” Erin releases Max and he hops around happily.

“Eww, Erin.” Ella makes a disgusted face.

“It’s the truth.” Erin shrugs. She sits up and Max jumps down to the floor. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Okay.” Ella rolls over and watches as Erin leaves the room with Max to go for his morning walk.

They’ve never done this before. Sleep in the same bed the whole night. There have been a couple of times when Ella would fall asleep on the Canadians couch or in Erin’s bed but she would always wake up a little while later go back across the hall to her apartment. She’s never stayed the whole night.

Ella thinks about the events of the last two days. It’s been a whirlwind. Waking up today, Ella feels better. Better than she did yesterday when Carm left, and better than the day before that, when Carm told her she was trade.

She stretches and gets up. Ella goes to the kitchen. It’s quiet in the apartment. She’s looks around and wonders what she should do. She wants to go back to her apartment but knows she shouldn’t leave before Erin comes back with Max. She sits at the counter and waits.

Erin comes back with Max a few minutes later. “Hey.” She runs her fingertips across Ella’s back as she passes on her way to get Max his breakfast. It sends shivers through Ella’s body. “We’ve got practice in little over an hour. You gonna stick around for breakfast er no?”

Ella hums, thinking it over. She should go home and change before practice. “I think I’m gonna head home, but I’ll see you at practice. Thanks for letting me stay.”

“Anytime.” Erin grins. She means it. She would let Ella sleep over any time she wanted.

* * *

 

There is a morning practice and weight room session. Erin has to leave early to head to the Red Stars office. She arrives and heads into the meeting room. “Ah, there she is.” Erin says loudly when she spots her newest team. “How ya been?”

“I’m good.” The girl says with a smile.

Erin walks over and pulls her newest teammate into a hug. “Alright. You done here?” Erin asks.

Adriana Leon, or as everyone knows her, Dri. She was acquired in the Boston trade for Carm. Erin knows Dri well, they are both on the Canadian team.

“Everything’s set here.” Dri smiles over at Erin. She grabs her bag and walks towards the door.

“Good. I’ll show you where you’ll be living, roomie.” Erin draws out the word roomie and winks. Dri shakes her head and follows Erin. They walk into the apartment and Max runs over to Erin. He barks, excited to see her. Erin pick him up and starts a quick tour. “There is the living room.” Erin points to the left. “The kitchen.” She points straight ahead of them. “My bedroom is on the right in the hall and yours is on the left. Kay?”

“Okay.” Dri laughs. “Thanks Erin.”

Erin nods. “Yep. You get settled in. I’m gonna take Max out.” Erin turns around and head back out the door.

Erin walks down the hallway and out of the apartment building. She spots Lori, Taryn, and Ella coming at her. “Hey, ladies.” Erin says as they approach. “How was lifting?”

“Good.” Lori smiles. Taryn nods along. Ella bends over and pets Max not bothering to answer the question.

“Awesome. Dri’s here. She’s in the apartment. I’m just gonna take Max for a quick walk.” She explains.

“Cool. We’ll stop by later to say hello.” Lori says.

Erin nods and starts walking. Max is distracted by Ella and she has to tug on his leash to get him going. “Come on, Max.” Max runs away from Ella and catches up to Erin. Erin looks back at Ella quickly before continuing down the sidewalk. She wonders what’s up with Ella today. Yesterday was a rough day for her and Erin wants to know how she’s doing today.

* * *

 

There is another home game coming up. Ella’s been thinking about her show. Alyse had asked her this morning if she was going to continue. She supposes she could do it solo, without a co-host. Ella wants to continue the show. In some ways she has to. She has to give away two tickets to fans. Plus, it’s fun and a good way to get the fans to know the players a little better. She wants the NWSL to succeed and this is her way of helping to do that. But, Ella doesn’t _want_ to do the show alone. That would be less fun. She needs to find a new co-host in the next day.

Ella knows who she wants to be her new co-host. It’s just a matter of getting her to agree to it. After dinner, she follows her roommates across the hall to meet their new teammate. They all meet and strike up easy conversation. It’s very easy going and light. Ella is playing with Max when Lori and Taryn head back to their apartment.

“So, you guys know each other pretty well. Dri, you got any dirt on Erin?” Ella smirks.

Dri laughs. “Well-“

“Don’t you dare say a word.” Erin points a threatening finger at her Canadian teammate. “And you-“ Erin points at Ella. “-just stop.”

“You’re no fun.” Ella huffs. “Speaking of fun, I have something to ask you.” She puts Max down.

“No.” Erin says.

“I didn’t even ask yet.” Ella makes a disgruntled face across the counter at Erin.

“The answer’s no, whatever it is.” Erin shuts Ella down.

Ella pouts and looks down to Max who is standing at her feet. “Your mommy’s no fun.”

Erin folds her arms over her chest. “I am fun.” Erin doesn’t want to be labeled as no fun.

“Prove it, McLeod.” Ella raises a challenging eyebrow at her, eyeing Erin up, with her own arms folded over her chest.

“Do you guys always bicker like this?” Dri jumps in at the awkward silence, looking between the two as they have a stare off. This is the first time she’s seen the two of them together and they have a very interesting dynamic going.

“No.” Erin shakes her head, looking away from Ella.

Ella sighs. “Look, I want to continue my show, but I don’t want to do it alone. I need a new co-host. Will you be my new co-host Erin?” She just comes out and just says it.

“No.” Erin shakes her head.

“Come on, please.” Ella begs.

“Nope.” Erin turns to the fridge and gets out a bottle of water.

“Is that your favorite word?” Ella frowns.

“I’ll let you two figure this out. I’ll be in my room.” Dri’s seen enough for the day. She has some interesting new teammates.

“Good night, Dri.” Ella says to her new teammate.

Erin doesn’t say anything. She looks at Ella, waiting until her new roommate is in her room. They eye each other until the bedroom door closes.

“Erin, please.” Ella whines. “You know the drill. You’ve been on the show before. You know how it goes. It’s not hard. You’re so great in front of the camera. You’ll be a hit. The fans will love it.” Ella pleads her case. Erin is her first choice and if she can’t get her to do it she’ll have to find somebody else.

“Thank you for the compliments, peasant, but my answer is still no.” Erin comes around the counter, to get Max from Ella’s feet, to take him on his walk.

“Don’t do that.” Ella says, referring to the peasant comment. She reaches out and puts her hand on Erin’s arm. “Please?” She gives Erin the puppy dog eyes.

With one look at Ella, she rolls her eyes, and gives in. “Fine.” Erin bends over and picks up Max. “I’ll do it.”

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” Ella says excitedly. She leans up and kisses Erin on the cheek. “This is gonna be so much fun.”

Erin grins. She’s not exactly sure what she just agreed to, but it doesn’t matter because the happy look on Ella’s face is worth it. Plus, she got a little kiss out of it. Win-win. “I’m taking Max for a walk. Can I walk you home?”

“I just live across the hall. I can walk myself.” Ella tells Erin, wondering why she’s asking.

“Way to ruin a moment.” Erin rolls her eyes.

“Oh.” Ella looks down, unsure. She understand what Erin was getting at now. “Well, if you want.” She mumbles awkwardly.

Erin holds out her elbow and Ella takes it. “Let’s roll.” She says goofily. Ella giggles. That’s mission accomplished in Erin’s mind.

“So, when do we film?” Erin asks at Ella’s door.

“Tomorrow.” Ella tells her with a smile.

Erin gives Ella big, wide eyes. “So soon.”

“Yes. Be ready in the morning.” Ella tells her. “Good night, Erin.” She squeezes Erin’s elbow.

“Good night.” Erin parrots. She watches as Ella steps into her apartment, standing there until Ella disappears.

* * *

 

Ella walks across the hall with a bowl of cereal in hand. She checks the doorknob. It’s unlocked so she goes in. Max runs over to greet her at the door. “Hi, Max.” She bends over and give the dog a good morning pat. “Where’s your mom?”

“Erin’s in the shower.” Dri fills in.

Ella nods and goes over to the couch where Dri sits. She sits down and takes a couple bites of her cereal. “How’s it going?” She asks, glancing over at her teammate. Dri just stares back at Ella. “What?” Ella doesn’t know why she is being stared at. “Do you want some?” She offers up her cereal. Dri shakes her head and rolls her eyes, looking away from Ella. “Okay. More for me.” Ella settles in and works on finishing her breakfast.

“ELLA.”

“What?” Ella looks over at Erin when she enters the room.

“Put a shirt on.” Erin yells.

“Oh.” Ella looks down at her chest. “I- sorry.” Now she knows why Dri was staring. Sometimes in the morning she’s not thinking. Also, it’s not uncommon for her to walk around the house without a shirt on. “I was- we’ve got the show today and I was thinking-“

“You agreed to that?” Dri speaks up.

“Unfortunately.” Erin shakes her head. “I may or may not be regretting that decision.” She goes into the kitchen to get some breakfast. The team has the day off so there’s no hurry to do anything.

“You can’t back out now.” Ella gets up from the couch and follows Erin into the kitchen.

Erin sighs. “I’m not. I won’t.” She promises.

“Good. I need something to wear. I was thinking I could dress as you-“ Ella bites her bottom lip and places her cereal bowl on the counter.

“Again?” Erin raises an eyebrow.

“Yeah. I mean, I’ll introduce you as the new co-host and whatever. It’s only fitting.” Ella rambles. She doesn’t really have a set plan for the episode but she has a few things in mind. The wardrobe being one of them.

“Fine.” Erin rolls her eyes. “Go crazy.”

“Thank you.” Ella grins, bouncing on her toes.

“Don’t thank me.” Erin tells her. She lets Ella weasel her into too many things. It’s really not a problem, but Erin’s never really been one to be influenced by others. It’s a good and a bad thing. Her first instinct is to say no to things, but Ella somehow gets her to say yes more than she ever has in her life. Even if it’s just something small. If Erin’s being honest with herself, she can’t wait to see what Ella comes up with for an outfit. At least she’ll find a shirt to put on. Hopefully.

“Dri, come help me.” Ella marches, determined, into Erin’s bedroom and starts looking through the clothes in her closet.

* * *

 

“Let’s go peasant.” Erin yells through the apartment. Ella and Dri are in Erin’s room getting dressed for the show.

Ella comes out of the room and holds her arms out and spins around. “What do you think?” She asks Erin.

“You- you look good.” Erin licks her lips. Ella looks more than good. Erin relishes in the sight of Ella wearing her clothes.

“Good. Let’s go.” Ella brushes past Erin on the way to the door. “Is Max coming with?”

“What? No. He can stay here. We won’t be gone that long, will we?” Erin grabs her keys.

“Nope.” Ella waits at the door for Erin. The goalkeeper catches up and they walk out of the building side by side. “We have one job we need to do for the show.” Ella mentions as they go. “We have to unveil the jerseys for tomorrow’s game.”

“Okay.” Erin doesn’t see a problem with that. She didn’t know they were getting different jerseys. Not that it matters much to her. Her jersey isn’t like everyone else’s anyway.

“For the Fourth of July game.” Ella adds.

“Yes, I know tomorrow is the Fourth of July. I’m Canadian, not dumb.” She side-eyes Ella.

“I didn’t mean-“ Ella sighs, feeling stupid about what she said.

Erin bumps into Ella’s shoulder with hers as they walk. “What do you know about fireworks around here?” She asks with a cheeky grin.

“I don’t know. Why?” Ella looks curiously at Erin. “Like shooting them off or what?”

“No.” Erin shakes her head. “Like, public fireworks. Going to watch them. That sort of thing.”

“Oh.” Ella thinks about it. “I know they launch off fireworks from Navy Pier. You’d have to check when. Tonight or tomorrow night. You could probably see those from where we live. Though that wouldn’t be a great view. Or I’m sure there are other fireworks displays in the area.” She shrugs, not sure what Erin is looking for exactly.

Erin nods. “Can we go?” She looks over at Ella.

The blonde looks back with a surprised expression. “Like, just us or-“

Erin shrugs. “Yeah, or we could ask some of the girls to go with too. Whatever.” Erin would love it if it were just the two of them at the fireworks together, but she’s not gonna push. A group is fine.

“Okay. I can look up places and times when we are done taping.”

“YEAH!” Erin claps her hands together and skips down the sidewalk, making Ella laugh.

* * *

 

They are in one of the small offices changing back into the shirts they arrived in. “I can’t believe you made me wear that cutoff.” Erin groans after the taping.

“It was for the show, for the viewer. Thanks for taking one for the team.” Ella grins at Erin.

“Yeah. Yeah. We’re did you even get those shirts? You didn’t bring them with you.” Erin’s just now seeing how sneaky Ella can be.

“If I had brought them with me then you would have known something was up.” Ella shrugs.

“You had this planned.” Erin accuses and gives Ella a playful shove.

“Yes and no.” Ella laughs.

“Whatever.” Erin rolls her eye. “Are we going home or what?”

“I was gonna look up the fireworks while we are here but I don’t have to if-“

“No. That’s fine. Go ahead.” Erin tells her. She really wants to go to the fireworks. The sooner they find out where, the better.

Ella gets her phone out and searches for fireworks times. As she scrolls through her phone Erin comes up behind her and looks over her shoulder. “Ohh, there.” Erin says.

“Navy Pier, nine-thirty tonight and tomorrow night. That’s perfect.” Ella nods and pockets her phone. She spins around to face Erin. “Which night do you want to go?” She looks right into Erin’s eyes.

Erin wets her lips. “Tonight. We have a game tomorrow and I don’t think I’ll be much for going out at night.”

Ella nods. “Y-yeah.” The air around them is thick and charged. Ella looks between Erin’s eyes and her lips.

“You wanna ask Lori and Taryn, I’ll ask Dri if she wants to go.” Erin can’t take her eyes off of Ella, the way Ella is looking at her.

“Sounds good.” Ella gulps and takes a step back putting some space between herself and Erin. “We can watch them from the park. We can meet up at like eight-thirty and go.”

“That works.” Erin nods and looks around the room. They’re little moment over.

* * *

 

Ella walks over to the Canadians apartment a little after eight. “I was thinking we should all bring one blanket.” She announces her presence.

“Does she ever knock?” Dri asks.

Erin laughs. “No. And I’m so used to it, it’s terrible.”

“What if- nevermind. You should knock, Ella.” Dri shakes her head. “But I think that’s a good idea. Erin filled me in on the plan. Are Lori and T coming?”

“Just Lori.” Ella looks between Dri and Erin awkwardly. She wants to say more but doesn’t have anything to say. “Just come over when you’re ready.” Ella instructs with a smile.

“Okay.” Dri says. Ella spins around and leaves. “She’s kinda weird. No offense, but like she’s not usual.” Dri looks over to Erin for her thoughts on the girl.

“Yeah, but aren’t we all a little weird?” She asks.

“I guess but-“ Dri sighs, not knowing what else to say.

“She’s a good kid.” Erin defends Ella and looks off into the distance.

“I didn’t say she wasn’t.” Dri looks over to Erin, who isn’t paying any attention to their conversation anymore.

Erin thinks about it. She thinks most people probably misunderstand Ella when they first meet her. They get that first impression of an awkward girl, and the unusual things that she does, the way she talks. She’s misunderstood. But, she’s a good person. No matter what’s going on with her or troubling her, she’s always good and kind to others. Erin likes that about Ella.

Erin takes Max for a walk before they go to the fireworks knowing he won’t want to go out when they get home. He’ll probably be hiding under the bed, scared to death of all the loud noises.

She knocks on the apartment door and Ella opens it up right away. “Were you standing there waiting?” Erin questions.

“No.” Ella says, but ducks her head.

Erin smiles at the thought of Ella standing there waiting for them. “You guys ready to go?”

“Yep.” Ella steps out into the hallway with her blanket under her arm.

“Someone’s excited.” Erin chuckles. Ella’s super cute when she gets excited.

Lori comes out a few seconds later and the four walk over to the park. It’s not far. They pick a spot to view the fireworks from. They lay down two blankets next to each other and settle down onto them. It was a warm, toasty day but it has cooled off since dark. The other two blankets are used to cover their legs as they sit.

It’s Lori, Dri, Erin, and Ella left to right. They talk and look around as they wait for the fireworks to begin. Erin is excited to see the fireworks but she’s more excited that she gets to see them with Ella sitting next to her.

When the fireworks actually start Erin lays down on her back and looks up at the sky. Ella glances over at Erin and mimics her position. She pulls the blanket up over them a little higher, covering their waists.

Erin turns her head to Ella and smiles. It’s the perfect cover. Erin looks back up at the explosions in the sky. She puts her right hand under the blanket and finds Ella’s hand taking hold of it. Ella bites her lip, trying but failing to keep the smile from her face, and squeezes Erin’s hand.

They hold hands throughout the entirety of the fireworks show. Afterwards, they all get up, gather the blankets and head back to the apartment building. Erin and Ella hang a few steps back from Lori and Dri as they walk, bumping into each other and brushing arms and hands together occasionally as they walk.


	3. Chapter 3

They get back to the apartment just before dinner. Ella gets something to eat and heads to her room. She thinks about what to do for the rest of the evening. Their game went well today. Got a win. Everyone was in a good mood but Ella just wants to relax tonight. But, because the game so early today there is a lot of time to kill before she thinks about going to bed.

She puts a movie on and starts watching it. Ella wonders what her roommates are up to tonight. She didn’t ask them about it earlier but wants to know now. She pauses the movie and gets up. She goes out into the hallway. There’s no one in the common area and both her roommate’s bedroom doors are closed. She decides not to bother them. Ella wanders into the kitchen to get a snack for her movie.

She makes popcorn before going back to her room and starting the movie again. She watches and eats her snack until something in the movie reminds her of one of her teammates. Ella smiles and picks up her phone.

**What are you up to?** She types out and hits send. Ella remembers Erin saying the day before that she probably wouldn’t be up for much after the game today, so she figures Erin isn’t doing anything in particular.

Ella waits for a reply. She thought she would get one right away. She was wrong. The minutes pass by without a response. Ella feels a little sad about it. She also feels silly for feeling sad that she didn’t get an answer to her text right away.

The movie ends and Ella hasn’t heard back from Erin. She thinks she’s probably not going to get a response tonight. Half of her wants to get up and go across the hall and see what’s going on, but she has no _real_ reason to go over there. Ella starts on another movie and settles in for the night. She’s not tired yet but without any other plans she knows she’s probably not going to leave her bed unless it’s to use the bathroom.

Twenty minutes into her second movie, Ella’s phone chimes, indicating a message. She picks up and sees it’s a text from Erin. Ella smiles.

**Was on the phone with my sister. What’s up?** Erin’s text reads.

Now Ella needs to think of something to respond with. **‘Just watching a movie. You?’**

Erin replies right away this time.  **I was gonna put some music on and paint. What movie are you watching?**

Ella shakes her head. **It’s not very good. I don’t really like it.**

**That’s too bad :( I’m not doing anything exciting, but if you want to come over you can.**  Is Erin’s response.

Ella smiles from ear to ear. She doesn’t want to seem too eager but- **Ok I’ll be right over.**  Ella stops the movie and gets up. She changes from shorts to sweatpants and makes her way over to Erin’s apartment. The pushes through the door and doesn’t see anyone. She assumes Erin is in her room.

She quickly makes her way through the apartment, to Erin’s door, and knocks lightly as she opens the door. “Hey.” Ella smiles shyly. Max looks up at her from his doggy bed. “Hi, Max.” He doesn’t bother to get up, too tired to care.

“Come in. Have a seat.” Erin says. Ella sits on the end of the bed. Music is playing quietly in the background. Erin is setting up an easel with a blank canvas on it.

“What are you gonna paint?” Ella asks.

Erin shrugs. “Don’t know yet. I’m still thinking about it.” She goes over and sits on the bed next to Ella. They eye each other. Erin puts a hand on Ella’s knee. “How are you?” Erin wants to check with Ella about how she’s handling things the last few days.

“What do ya mean?” Ella scrunches up her face.

“With everything that’s happened in the last couple of days. Carm and stuff.” Erin hints at.

“I’m good, Erin. Thanks.” Ella tells her. She’s not sure why she’s asking. As far as Ella is concerned what happened a couple of days ago is in the past. No need to bring it up again.

“You sure, cuz you were pretty broken up about it the other day.” Erin goes on.

Ella stands up and goes over to the window. “I’m fine.” She doesn’t want to talk about it. Ella sees fireworks going off in the distance and thinks maybe coming over here wasn’t a good idea.

“Okay. I just wanted to make sure.” Erin stands up. She walks up behind Ella and puts her hands on each other her shoulders. “I had a good time last night.” Seeing the fireworks through the window reminds her of the night before when they went to the fireworks.

Ella nods. “Me too.” It’s wasn’t much but Ella did enjoy her time with Erin the night before and sneakily holding her hand under the blanket.

Erin squeezes Ella shoulder’s. “Come sit down again.” She backs away from Ella and sits on the edge of the bed. Ella turns around and looks at Erin. “Come on.” Erin pats the spot on the bed next to her. “I don’t bite.” She cocks her head to the side.

Ella bites her lower lip and goes to sit next to Erin. “Are you gonna paint?” Ella asks.

“No.” Erin says flat out. Erin looking over at Ella, watching her. She can see that Ella is nervous or uneasy about something. She doesn’t want to ask about it but Erin does want to know.

“Then what do you want to do?” Ella asks, looking to Erin. Those warm chocolate eyes pull her in. Erin smiles lightly. She put her hand on Ella’s thigh. Ella breaks eye contact to look down at the hand. “Erin-“ She looks back up and gets sucked in again. There’s just something about Erin that draws her in. Erin leans closer, slowly. Ella knows what’s happening. “Don’t.” She whispers with Erin’s face an inch from hers.

Erin glances down at Ella’s lips, the small distance between them. She licks her lips. She feels the pull between them. “Stop me.” Erin whispers. She hesitates for a moment. Long enough for Ella to put an end to what’s happening. When Ella doesn’t make a move Erin closes the distance between them. She presses her lips to Ella’s. Kissing the bottom lip and then switching to the top before resting her forehead against Ella’s.

Ella sighs, feeling two ways at once. “Erin, you shouldn’t have-“

“You didn’t stop me.” Erin opens her eyes and pulls back from Ella’s face. She looks at the girl who still has her eyes closed. “You okay?” Erin squeezes Ella’s leg.

Ella nods and opens her eyes. “Y-yeah.” She says shakily.

“You wanna lay down?” Erin asks, thinking it might help Ella feel better.

Ella nods again. Erin moves to lay down on the bed. Ella follows. They lay side by side on their backs looking up at the ceiling. “I just-“ Ella starts.

“Shh. You don’t have to say anything.” Erin says.

Ella reaches over and takes Erin’s hand. Erin looks over at her. Ella locks eyes with Erin and smiles. Erin rolls over to lay on her side so she can see Ella better and takes Ella’s other hand so it’s more comfortable.

Ella just stares up at the ceiling for a long time before sighing and rolling over so she and Erin mirror each other. “I want to explain it to you but I don’t think I can.” Ella gives Erin a sad, tight-lipped smile.

Erin leans forward and kisses Ella’s forehead. “Okay.” She told Ella that if she couldn’t do this then she wouldn’t be offended or blame her. She knows it was probably a long shot but she had a small hope. “Let’s get some sleep.” She tucks Ella to her chest.

* * *

 

Ella wakes up in the middle of the night. The looks over at Erin laying on her back and sighs. She knows it’s not fair. She’s not being fair to Erin. She knows that Erin likes her and she shouldn’t be messing with her feelings if it’s all for nothing. Ella doesn’t want to do that to her. She’s conflicted.

She slips out of bed. Out of the room. Out of the apartment and back into her own. Ella goes to bed except she doesn’t sleep. She lies there awake all night thinking and praying for what to do.

Ella’s sitting at the table in the morning when there’s a knock on the door. She’s the only one home so she has to answer it, even though she doesn’t want to. She feels like crap because she didn’t sleep much and doesn’t want to do anything today.

She pulls the door open and Erin is standing there with Max. Max puts his front paws on Ella’s thighs, wanting attention from her. Ella smiles down at Max. “Hi, Max.”

Erin watches Ella pet Max. “Are your roommates home?” Erin asks.

Ella finds it a weird question. She looks up to Erin. “No.”

“Can I come in?” She asks.

“Yeah.” Ella says and steps out of the way, letting Max and Erin in. “What are you guys up to this morning?”

“We just got back from a walk.” Erin tells her.

“Oh, I’ll get Max some water.” Ella goes over to the sink and busies herself with getting water. She’s nervous about why Erin is in her apartment.

“Thank you.” Erin waits until Ella gets the bowl of water and puts it on the floor. “I woke up this morning and you were gone.”

Ella grimaces. “Yeah, sorry. I woke up in the middle of the night and came home. I thought I’d give you your bed back.” Ella says lamely.

“I don’t mind sharing my bed with you.” Erin smiles. “You could’ve stayed.”

“Erin, can we not.” Ella sighs. “I didn’t sleep well after I got home. I’m tired. I just-“ Ella struggles for the right words to say.

“Ella.” Erin goes over to the blonde. “I wish you’d talk to me about this.”

Ella shakes her head. “I can’t.” She can’t. She hasn’t made a decision yet. She doesn’t know what she’s going to do. She can’t discuss it. Not until she knows. But she doesn’t know if or when that will be.

Erin sighs. Max interrupts their awkward conversation by barking at Ella to play with him. Ella bends down with a happy smile and picks Max up. Erin watches as Ella happily plays with Max. She puts a hand on Ella’s shoulder. “He really likes you. You two should spend the day together.” Erin suggests. They have the day off. It’s a recovery day and Erin just wants Ella to be happy. And she knows that Max makes Ella happy.

“I couldn’t.”

“You can.” Erin insists.

“What about you?” Ella asks.

“I’m going down to the art supply store, but after that I’ll be home the rest of the day. If you need anything just come over.” Erin tells Ella.

“Okay.” Ella agrees. “Thanks.” She smiles at Max. She knows Erin is doing this for her and she could really use it. Though she’s a little nervous. She’s never taking care of a dog by herself before. “What should we do today Max?” Ella asks the dog.

Erin chuckles. “I’m gonna go.” She says and sees herself out.

* * *

 

Ella spends all day with Max. They go for a walk in the park and then come back and take a nap in Ella’s bed. Erin brought a few toys over and Ella and Max played tug of war and a little game of fetch. Max loves the attention that Ella gives him and Ella loves that the little dog puts a happy smile on her face.

The day alone with Max has also given Ella the opportunity to think without anyone distracting her. She’s thought a lot about what she wants and doesn’t want but isn’t much closer to a decision about her current situation. She knows that she should follow her heart but her head is telling her something different.

Ella knows Max has dinner at or after Erin has dinner so she eats and brings Max for a walk before returning him to his owner. Ella enters the Canadians apartment. And Max runs into the kitchen right away. The food is already in his food bowl and he starts eating. Ella smiles.

“Hey.” Dri is sitting at the island counter. “How was your day?”

“Good. Max and I had a good time.” Ella walks over to Dri. “Where’s Erin? She said she’d be here.”

Dri nods. “She’s in her room. She said to go in when you dropped Max off.”

“Okay. Thanks.” Ella walks back to the bedroom. She pauses outside the door. She hears Erin singing lightly on the other side and smiles. She loves Erin’s singing voice. Ella pushes the door open. Erin is standing there in front of her easel with her back to the door. Headphones on, a paint brush in hand. Ella’s smile only grows as Erin wiggles her butt to the beat of the music. Ella walks over and taps Erin on the shoulder.

Erin screams and spins around. “Jesus Christ.” She says seeing Ella standing there.

“Sorry.” Ella shrugs. “You looked really cute and in the zone.” She tries to look over Erin’s shoulder to see what she is painting.

Erin takes her headphones off, raising an eyebrow at Ella. “Cute? Me. No.” Erin shakes her head.

“Yes. You’re cute. Just accept it. I know you’re supposed to be this big badass goalkeeper, but you’re not.” Ella grins.

“Whatever. I don’t believe you.” Erin waves Ella off. She turns around to clean her paintbrush and start putting her paints away.

Ella chuckles. “What are you painting?” She steps to Erin’s side so she can see the painting. “Wow.” She turns to Erin. “This is really good.” Ella unconsciously places her hand on Erin’s forearm.

Erin sets her brush down and turns to face Ella. “Thanks.” She says shyly. Her eyes latching onto those hazel ones that are looking back at her. “You really thinks it good?” Erin whispers.

Ella squeezes Erin’s arm and nods. “Yeah.” She whispers. Her eye alternating between Erin’s eyes and her lips. “I brought Max back.”

Erin nods. “Okay.”

“Thanks for letting me have him for the day.” Ella looks away from Erin over to the door. She licks her lips and looks back. “Erin?” She asks.

“Yeah?”

Ella raises up onto her tiptoes and leans in, pressing her lips to Erin’s. Erin takes a surprised breath in before kissing Ella back. Her hand goes to Ella’s face, cupping her cheek. It’s a proper kiss with both of them giving and taking, alternating between lips. Erin pokes her tongue out and licks Ella’s bottom lips causing a little squeak out of Ella and it breaks the kiss.

Erin smiles at the woman before her. Her thumb stroking across the soft skin of Ella’s cheek. “Well?” Erin questions. She’s going to let Ella decide what happens next.

Ella takes one step back, then another, pulling on Erin’s forearm to get her to follow. Ella backs up to the bed and sits down and pats the spot next to her. Erin sits down her eyes never leaving Ella’s. She wants to take in as much as possible in this situation. It all feels surreal. Like maybe it’s a dream. But Ella leans in again and wrap her hand behind Erin’s neck and pulls Erin towards her as the meet for another kiss.

It’s not until a few minutes later when they hear a door close that they break apart. Erin with a sly grin and Ella looking cautiously over at the door. “Dri probably just went to bed.” Erin says.

Ella nods and relaxes again. It’s the first time she’s felt relaxed since the night before when she was lying in bed with Erin. She sighs and flops back onto the mattress. Ella feels really good right now. She smiles happily as Erin’s face comes to hover in front of hers.

“What are you thinking?” Erin asks.

“Mostly that I’m all over the place. But, also that I’m really happy right now. And relaxed.” She tells Erin.

Erin smiles. “Cool.” She leans down and kisses Ella quickly. “Stay here tonight.” She whispers. Ella’s eyes go wide. “No. Not like that.” Erin shakes her head. She can’t believe Ella would jump to that conclusion. “Sleep here tonight. But- like- stay the whole night?” She stutters, thinking she sounds like an awkward teenager. In some ways Erin thinks that this situation is very similar to awkward teenager. When no one knows quite what to do or what to say or how to act.

“Okay.” Ella bites her lip. “Can I borrow some clothes though? Or I could go back to my apartment and-“

“No.” Erin falls on top of Ella’s body, pinning her to the bed. “Don’t go anywhere.” She whines.

Ella laughs. “Okay.” She pats at Erin’s back. “Can I at least get changed?”

Erin lifts her head and looks at Ella. She leans in and pecks her lips once more. “Okay.” She sits up with a goofy grin. “Now you can. I’m gonna go see what Max is up to. You change I’ll be right back.”

Ella nods and watches as Erin leaves the room. She gets up and opens the drawer of Erin’s dresser that she knows shorts and sweatpants are in. She pulls out a pair of shorts and finds a t-shirt from the next door and goes into the hallway bathroom to change. Which is ridiculous because it’s not like Ella doesn’t change in front of people all the time. But something feels different right now.

She feels different right now. She finally gave in fully to the urge. Ella let her feelings take control over her brain.

Ella goes back into Erin’s bedroom. Max and Erin are in there. Max laying in his doggy bed all ready for the night. And Erin standing there with a t-shirt in her hand. “I’m just gonna go to the bathroom.” Erin comes over and kisses Ella’s cheek. “Get comfy. Warm up the sheets for me.” She wiggles her eyebrows.

“You’re terrible.” Ella grins and swats at Erin’s arm but misses as Erin jumps away from her.

“Be right back.”

Ella goes over to the bed and sets her clothes on the floor. She gets her phone out and sends a quick text to her roommates before pulling back the covers and getting into bed. Ella lays on her back with the blankets covering her legs. She folds her hands together and puts them on her chest.

Erin comes in a moment later and climbs into bed. She puts her chin on Ella’s shoulder and stares at her. “Can we snuggle?” She asks with a chipper voice.

“You are so not a badass.” Ella laughs.

Erin pouts. “Hey, I’m from Canada. We snuggle together in the winter to stay warm.”

“Whatever, McLeod. How do you want to do this?” Ella is committed to being open to things tonight. She knows Erin wouldn’t do anything that she’s not okay with.

“Roll on your side. Away from me.” Erin rolls on her side and scoots up behind Ella, matching her position, wrapping one arm around Ella’s waist. “This okay?”

“Yes.” Ella nods.

“You’re comfy.” Erin grins. Ella chuckles. Erin kisses the back of Ella’s head. “Sleep well, beautiful.”

 Ella smiles at Erin's words. "Goodnight, Erin."


	4. Chapter 4

The team huddles up at the end of practice. Erin speaks. “I think, in honor of our newest teammate, we should all go out and celebrate tonight.”

Rory hears Erin’s announcement. “You have practice tomorrow morning. Just remember that.” He yells over to the group from a few feet away.

“Just dinner. Don’t worry Rory, I’ll make sure everyone behaves themselves.” Erin looks over at him and winks. She turns back to the team. “What do ya think?”

“Let’s do it.” Ella the first to speak up. Of course.

Erin chuckles. “Alright. Back to the regularly scheduled programming.”

The team finishes practice and all agree to meet for drinks and dinner at a local restaurant.

* * *

 

Some celebrate more than others. Some just stay for dinner. And some stay after for a few drinks. A few drink more than they should.

“Hey, Dri.” Ella walks up to Dri at the bar. “Where’s that roommate of yours?” She asks with a hiccup.

Dri laughs. “Are you drunk?”

“Noooo.” Ella hiccups again. “Just a little tipsy. I don’t do drunk.”

“Okay, Ella.” Dri looks around. She’s not sure where Erin is, actually. “I don’t know where Erin is.” She shrugs.

Ella hiccups and looks around the area and doesn’t see her either. “I’ll stay here and wait.”

Dri gives Ella a confused look. “I don’t know if she’s gonna come over here.”

Ella waves Dri off and takes a sip of her drink. “It’s fine. I can hang out with you.” She hiccups. “Right?” She nods.

“Sure.” Dri chuckles. “You sure are an interesting one, Ella.”

“What are you saying?” Ella stands up straighter and hiccups. “Fucking hiccups.” She mumbles.

Dri laughs.

“What’s so funny?” Is asked from behind Ella.

Ella spins around. “Erin.” She wraps her arms around the goalkeeper’s neck.

“Woah there, tiger.” Erin chuckles, holding onto Ella hips. “How much have you had to drink?” She asks. She told Rory that she would make sure nobody got too carried away. She might have just found someone who did.

Erin gets a hiccup in return. “Just three.” Ella holds up three fingers and hiccups again.

“Three what.” Erin wants specifics.

“Drinks. Duh.” Ella laughs and spins away from Erin to go talk to someone else.

“No more for her.” Erin sits down next to Dri. “You enjoying this?” Erin asks.

“Yeah, it’s been good. Thanks for suggesting it. What about you?” Dri asks back.

Erin shakes her head. “This isn’t my thing. I don’t do parties. I don’t drink much. I don’t really like going out. But it was fun. I’m glad we did this. I talked to most everyone on the team tonight. I don’t get that one on one chance very often. So it was nice.” She says with a nod.

“Thank for doing this, Erin.” Dri pats Erin’s arm. “I appreciate it. I got to know the girls a little better tonight.”

“Don’t thank me. I just suggested- oomph.” Someone runs into Erin. She turns to see Ella standing there with a guilty smile on her face.

“I’m back.” She grins at Dri and Erin. “Did you guys miss me?” She licks her lips and focuses in on Erin.

Dri speaks up first. “Yep, Ella. Where’d you go?”

Ella points over her shoulder. “I was talking to that guy over there. He’s a professional weight lifter.”

“Gross.” Erin mumbles.

“He let me touch him.” Ella tells the two girls.

Dri busts out laughing and slaps her hand on the counter.

“Oh my god.” Erin palms her face.

“Erin, did you miss me?” Ella remembers that Erin never answered her question. She looks to Erin, waiting for an answer.

“Nope.” Erin shakes her head. “I think it’s time to go home.”

“I second that.” Dri agrees.

“What? No. Wait. You didn’t miss me.” Ella says.

“Nope. Let’s go get a cab.” Erin takes Ella by the elbow and starts to lead her out of the bar. “You coming Dri?” Erin looks over her shoulder for her friend.

“For real, you didn’t miss me?” Ella asks Erin as they go.

“Yep. Coming.” Dri throws some money down on the bar and follows Erin out.

It’s easy to get a cab and the three get into the backseat, Ella sitting in between Erin and Dri. The amount of drinks definitely has Ella tipsy and is effecting her better judgement. She wraps an arm around each of her friends and starts swaying to the music that is playing in the cab.

“I like this song, sir. Can you please turn it up?” Ella asks the cabbie.

“Oh god.” Erin groans, feeling secondhand embarrassed.

Ella wiggles and dances between them. “Oh, my Canadians.” She says, suddenly, over the music. Erin gives Ella a raised eyebrow.

“You sure do love Canada an awful lot for being an American.” Dri says through her laughter.

Ella shrugs. “What can I say. All the Canadians that I’ve ever might in my lifetime are great people. Zurrer, Carm, Erin, and now you Dri. All great. Never met a Canadian I didn’t like.”

“Wait, you know Em?”

“Sure do. Went to college with her. We’re bros.” Ella nods.

“Wow.” Dri says.

Erin laughs and shakes her head. They listen to the radio and Ella wiggles in her seat the rest of the way to their apartment building.

Erin puts her key in the lock, turns it, and pushes the door open. Max barks once and comes running out into the hallway. “Hey, buddy.” Erin greets him. He runs around Erin’s feet before moving to Dri and finally Ella.

Ella bends over and picks him up. “Did you miss me?” She asks, maybe Max missed her if Erin’s didn’t.

Erin enters the apartment and Dri follows closely behind her. Ella pays more attention to Max than anything else, but enters the apartment too and stands by the door. She pets and tickles and pokes at Max, getting an excited reaction from him.

Erin finds Max’s leash from in the kitchen and returns to the door. “Time for a walk.” She says to Ella and the dog.

Ella frowns and puts Max down. Her fun with him is over for the night. He goes over to Erin’s feet and she hooks him to his leash. She looks over to Ella and sees the frown on her face as she looks down at Max. “Be back in a little bit.” She tells Dri.

“Okay.” Comes in response. “What about you Ella? You going home?” Dri asks.

Now that her fun is done for the day, Ella thinks she better go home and go to bed. They have practice in the morning. “Yeah.” She says. “It’s late. Gotta get my beauty rest.” Ella says with a cheesy smile.

Dri chuckles. “Yeah. Yeah.”

Erin steps out into the hallway with Max. “Night, Dri.” Ella follows after Erin, shutting the apartment behind her. “Well, good night to you too. I’ll see you tomorrow at practice.” Ella goes over to her door and puts her hand on the knob. She looks over to Erin and waits for a goodnight response.

“Or.” Erin jiggles Max’s leash. “You could come with us for a walk.” She suggests.

“Really?” Ella asks, excitedly.

“No. I just said that and now I’m taking it back. Yeah, really.” Erin chuckles. “Come on.”

“Okay.” Ella ducks her head, feeling silly. She just got so excited that she had to ask, she had to make sure Erin was actually serious about her going on the walk.

Ella follows Erin out of the apartment building, out onto the sidewalk. “Did you have a good time tonight?” She asks as they walk.

“Not really my cup of tea but yeah. It’s was fun.” Erin tells her.

“You’re not much of a drinker, are you?” Ella asks.

Erin shakes her head. “No. I don’t usually drink during the season but in the offseason or for a special occasion I’ll have a couple of drinks.” She’s not really a drinking. “I see you didn’t hold back tonight.”

“I’m not drunk.” Ella insists.

“I know.” Erin says calmly, side-eyeing Ella. “But you did have enough to affect you.”

Ella ducks her head, a little embarrassed. “I guess.”

Erin bumps Ella’s shoulder with her own. “Hey, don’t sweat it.” She smiles.

“Okay.” Ella smiles back.

They walk Max around the block, mostly in silence, but sharing looks and smiles. When they get back to the apartment building Erin waits at Ella’s door until she gets it unlocked.

Ella unlocks the door and turns to Erin for her goodbye. Erin is instead looking behind Ella into the apartment. It’s dark and she doesn’t see anyone. “What are you looking at? Or for?”

“Nothing.” Erin smirks and takes a step forward causing Ella to take a step back.

“What are you doing Erin?” Ella asks as Erin effectively backs her into her own apartment.

Erin puts her index finger to her lips. “Shh.” Ella raises an eyebrow. “Max wants to make sure you get to bed alright.” Erin whispers, entering Ella’s apartment.

Ella turns on the lights and looks around the room. It’s quiet. Her roommates are either in bed already or still out. Ella thinks it’s probably the former over the latter. “Erin?” She whispers. She doesn’t want to get ‘caught’ with Erin. Not that she or they are doing anything incriminating.

“Take Max. Go to your room. Get changed into your jammies. And wait for me.” Erin instructs.

Ella bites her bottom lip but nods. She’s doesn’t know what’s happening but she’s excited about it. She does as Erin instructs.

Erin goes over to the cupboard and gets out a glass. She fills it with water then goes to the bathroom and opens the medicine cabinet and gets two Advil. Erin exits the bathroom and goes to Ella’s room. Her door is open just a crack, so Erin pushes it open.

Max is curled up laying on the end of Ella’s bed, already asleep. Ella is in bed with her back against the headboard with the blankets pulled up to her waist. “Cute.” Erin smiles.

“What’s that?” Ella asks, seeing the glass of water.

Erin looks down at the water. She approaches the bed. “It’s for you. Take this and drink this whole glass. It should prevent any headaches in the morning. Not that I think that will happen. Just to be safe.” Erin sort of rambles.

Ella smiles bashfully. “Thank you.” She takes the two pills from Erin and puts them in her mouth before taking the glass of water and taking a couple big gulps. “Sit with me while I drink my water?”

Erin nods and sits on the edge of the bed facing Ella. “You know I was lying before, right?”

Ella scrunches up her face. “When?”

Erin licks her lips. “When you asked if I missed you.” She confesses.

“Erin.” Ella slaps Erin’s leg.

Erin shrugs. “More often than not, I miss your presence when you’re not around. I’m trying not to make a big deal out of it. Even though it kind of is a big deal. I like being around you. I didn’t want to say anything when we were out because I knew you weren’t talking about it at the bar like I’m talking about it now.”

Ella sets her half empty glass on the nightstand next to her bed. She takes Erin hand. “So sweet.” She raises the hand to her mouth and kisses Erin’s fingers. “I miss you too. Being around you makes me feel so many things. Good things. It’s an addictive feeling. It makes me want to be around you more. I mostly miss you at night.”

“That’s cuz you get to see me during the day.”

“True. But like if we’re not together in the evening and before bed mostly That’s when.” She tugs on Erin’s hand, pulling her closer. She moves her hand from Erin’s hand to her face. She cups Erin’s cheek and closes the distance between them, finishing with a kiss.

“Is this an attempt to avoid drinking your water?” Erin asks after the kiss.

Ella shakes her head and reaches for her glass. She drinks the rest of the glass in a couple of big swallows. “All done.”

Erin laughs.

“Shh.” Ella says. “You’re gonna wake L and T.”

“L and T. What are they? Sandwich ingredients?” Erin shakes her head.

Ella scrunches up her face, confused. “What? No.”

Erin chuckles. “Nevermind.” Erin stands up.

“You’re leaving?” Ella pouts.

Erin nods. “Lay down. Like flat.” Ella does what Erin asks. She puts the glass on the nightstand and scoots lower in the bed until she’s flat on her back. Erin reaches for the blanket and pulls it to Ella’s chin and starts tucking it in around Ella’s body. Ella starts giggling. “Shh. Sleepy time.” Erin finishes tucking around Ella and smiles down at her. Ella looks back with intrigue.

“Goodnight, Ella.” Erin leans over and kisses Ella on the lips once more. She puts her hand on the top of Ella’s head, moving her lips to the blonde’s forehead and kissing her there. “Sweet dreams. I’ll see you in the morning.” She whispers.

“Goodnight, Erin.” Ella smiles softly up at her.

Erin nods and moves to the end of the bed. She collects Max and makes her way to the door. Erin opens the door and stops in the doorway to look back at Ella one more time before she goes. They share a look and Erin turns off the light and exits. She quietly makes her way through Ella’s apartment, to the door, she shuts off the lights, turns the lock on the knob, and shuts the door behind herself.

Erin stands in the hallway for a moment collecting herself before going into her apartment. “I’m screwed.” She realizes she’s completely sucked into whatever this is between her and Ella no matter what the outcome is. It’s a scary thought.

“That was a long walk.” Dri says when Erin enters.

Erin sets Max down and her goes over to get a drink. “Yeah. I needed to- I needed-“ She searches for something to say.

“You don’t have to explain anything to me.” Dri shuts off the tv and gets off the couch. “I’m going to bed.”

“Okay, goodnight.” Erin nods.

“Night.” Dri smiles kindly.

Erin collects Max and goes to bed herself.

* * *

 

Erin’s been thinking about that whole missing each other things over the last couple of days. It’s a funny thing because they see each other every day. Yet, that feeling is still there. It’s crazy. She reaches for her phone and sends out a text.

A few minutes later there is a smiling blonde at the bedroom door. “I got your text.” Ella says, standing in the doorway.

“Come in. Close the door.” Erin smirks from her spot on the bed. She marks her page in the book she is reading and sets it down.

“Where’s Max?” Ella asks.

“Dri took him for his walk.” Erin tells Ella.

Ella approaches the bed. “Convenient.”

“Yes. Come here.” Erin holds out her arms. Ella sits down and Erin wraps her in a hug. “I was thinking since tomorrow morning we leave for Washington that we should have a sleepover tonight.”

Ella smiles and pulls back from Erin’s hug. “That sounds perfect.” She closes the distance between them and kisses Erin.

Erin hums into the kiss. Her right hand going to cradle the back of Ella’s head, deepening the kiss. Ella runs her tongue against Erin’s lips, getting her to open her mouth, and allow Ella’s to slip her tongue in. In the distance, Erin hears the apartment door close. She slows their kiss down and with a few quick pecks pulls away from Ella. “Dri’s back.” She whispers.

Ella gives Erin a confused look. “So?”

There’s a knock on the bedroom door.

“That’s why.” Erin smirks. Ella nods and puts a little distance between them. “Come in.”

The door opens and Max runs in, and jumps up on the bed, going right for Ella. Ella giggles as Max starts licking her face.

“Oh, I didn’t know you’d be here, Ella.” Dri’s a little surprised to see the forward in Erin’s room.

“We are having a sleepover before the road trip.” Erin says nonchalantly. Sleepovers are innocent, right?

“Cool. Well, Max did his business. He’s all good to go.” Dri says.

Erin looks over at Max giving Ella all the attention. “Thanks. Goodnight, Dri.” It’s early still, but Erin knows she won’t be seeing her roommate again until morning.

“Night.” With that Dri shuts the door.

“Are you gonna share?” Erin pouts.

Ella laughs. “Max your mommy wants some love.” She hands Max over to Erin and he starts licking Erin happily. Ella watches as Erin gives Max the attention and love he wants. She gets up after a few seconds and goes over to Erin’s dresser and gets a pair of sweatpants, taking her jean shorts off right there and putting the sweatpants on. She goes back to the bed and lays down next to Erin and Max.

“Okay, enough for today Maxwell.” Erin sets the dog on the floor. “Go lay down.” Max goes over to his dog bed and curls up for a nap.

“You’re turn.” Erin lays down facing Ella.

“You’re not gonna lick my face, are you?” Ella smiles.

“Do you want me to?” Erin asks. Ella laughs and shakes her head. “Cuz if you wanted, I probably could.” Erin shrugs with a goofy grin.

Ella puts her palm on Erin’s upper arm. “Stop being weird.”

“I’m not weird. You’re weird.” Erin comes back with lamely.

“I am not.” Ella cocks her head to the side. “You just offered to lick my face. That’s weird.”

Erin shrugs. “Just trying to show you a little love.”

Ella’s eyes soften, she breathes out a long breath. “Erin.” She whispers. She wants so much. She wants to say so much. She wants to do so much. There’s too much noise in her head to straighten it all out though. Instead, she does what she knows. Ella scoots closer to Erin, their knees and feet touching, a few inches between their upper bodies. She leans in for kiss. One that Erin is more than ready for. One little kiss turns into two and three and into longer more intense kissing. So much so that Ella pushes Erin onto her back a few minutes in and rolls on top of her.

Erin’s a bit surprised by the bold move but continues with their make out session. That is, until Ella bites her bottom lip hard. “Mmm.” Erin mumbles against Ella’s lips.

Ella pulls away and looks down at Erin. “What?” Slightly offended that Erin stopped them.

Erin tucks Ella’s hair behind her ear. Her other hand resting at the small of Ella’s back. “Maybe we should take it easy for the rest of the night.” She doesn’t want to get too carried away. Erin also doesn’t want Ella to get too carried away and possibly start something she can’t finish.

Ella pouts about it. But when she actually thinks about it, thinks it through. Erin is right, of course. Now that she realizes the positions they are in she a little embarrassed about it. She laying on top of Erin. “Yeah.” She sighs and slides off of Erin.

Erin’s sees the disappointment on Ella’s face. She makes sure she keeps her arm around Ella and makes sure Ella doesn’t go too far away.

Ella settles in the crook of Erin’s arm. She rests her head on Erin’s chest, an arm draped over her waist. Erin kisses Ella on the forehead. “Hey.” Ella looks up and they lock eyes. “I was thinking of calling Carm earlier. You wanna Facetime her instead?” Erin asks. Ella smiles happily and nods her head. “You got your phone?” Ella nods again and pulls her phone from her back pocket. “Perfect.”

She reaches for Ella’s phone. “Can I?” Erin wants to mess with Carm a little. Ella opens the Facetime app and hands the phone to Erin. Erin does the rest, the phone starts connecting and Erin holds the phone so that only her face is visible. “You’re gonna like this.” She side-eyes Ella.

Carm picks up the Facetime call. “Hello, peasant.” Carm grins. “Wait. You’re not the peasant. Erin?”

“Yes, Carm.” Erin smirks.

“Why do you have Ella’s phone? Where’s Ella? Did you kill her and you’re calling me to let me know.” Carm jokes.

Erin laughs. So does Ella and Carm hears it. “She’s there with you isn’t she?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Erin shrugs.

“Erin McLeod, don’t you try to be cute with me.” Carm gets a little frustrated.

Erin laughs and looks over at Ella. She has her hand over her mouth trying to stifle her laughter. “I can hear you Masar. And Erin- eyes on the screen.” Erin looks back at the phone. She smiles at Carm and holds the phone out so that her and Ella’s faces are both in frame.

“Oh my god, you guys.” Carm grumbles and rolls her eyes. She can see now what is going on. The two of them on Erin’s bed. The love sick look in Ella’s eyes as she rests her head comfortably on Erin’s chest.

“Hi, Carm.” Ella grins.

“Hello, peasant.” Carm smiles genuinely. “I’d ask what you’ve been up to but I can clearly see how you’ve been spending your free time.”

Ella gets shy and turns her face into Erin’s shirt, hiding from Carm. “Carm.” She mumbles.

Carm laughs. “Calm down. I won’t continue with that. How have you guys been?” She asks.

“Good.” Erin replies first. “We fly out to Washington tomorrow morning.”

“Cool. Any new interesting stories?” Carm asks.

“Not really.” Erin says. Ella recovers and lays the side of her head back against Erin’s chest. “What about you, Carm? Done anything fun in Boston?”

“Not really. I’ve been getting settled and we had a game but mostly practice and training and getting settled. Hopefully, coming up here, I can get out and explore the city.” Carm tells them.

“It’s good seeing and talking to you.” Ella jumps back into the conversation.

“You too. You guys look happy.” Carm says. They both nod in response. “Don’t both get too excited about it or anything.” Carm chuckles. She is happy to see them happy and spending time together and getting along and whatever else they do.

“Okay. We’ll let you go. I know it’s an hour later there and we are gonna go to bed here.” Ella says. As much as she wants to talk with Carm she wants to spend as much time alone with Erin before tomorrow. Cuz when they are on the road they will be seeing less of each other.

“You guys. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Be smart. Be safe. Love you guys.” Carm waves to them.

“Bye Carm.” Erin says.

Ella lifts her hand from Erin’s chest and waves at the phone. “Bye, Carm. Stay safe.”

Erin disconnects the call and puts Ella’s phone on the nightstand next to the bed. “I’m gonna put a different pair of shorts on.” She kisses the top of Ella’s head. “You get under the covers.” Erin gets up and changes.

Ella stands and pulls the blankets back and gets onto the bed again. Though this is a new thing, she doesn’t have any trepidations about sleeping with Erin. She craves that physical contact actually. She finds sleeping cuddled up with Erin to be soothing. She likes the feeling of having Erin close.

Erin comes back and curls up under the blankets with Ella. They face each other on their sides. Erin pecks at Ella’s lips quickly. “Carm seems good.”

“She does. It was good talking to her. I haven’t talked to her since she left. I couldn’t bring myself to call her.” Ella admits. “But, it was good tonight.” She wants to give Erin all the credit for coming up with the idea. It was a great idea. And they threw Carm off at the beginning and it was funny.

“Good. What do you want to do now?” Ella told Carm they were going to sleep, but Erin isn’t sure that’s what Ella wants.

“Tell me a story. Something from your childhood.” Ella asks.

“Okay.” Erin smiles. She pulls Ella into her chest, slipping her foot between Ella’s calves, and pressing a kiss to her nose before she begins.

Erin tells Ella a few childhood stories before they decide it’s late enough and that they need sleep. Ella falls asleep first, all curled up in Erin’s arms. Erin watches her sleep for a little bit, admiring how peaceful and beautiful Ella looks when she sleeps. She’s always beautiful in Erin’s eyes, but she’s just that little bit more beautiful when she’s slumbering.


	5. Chapter 5

The alarm on Erin’s phone goes off at six am. She grabs the phone off the nightstand and turns the alarm off. She rolls over into Ella. “Does it have to be morning already?” She complains.

Ella giggles. “Apparently, your alarm says so. Get up McLeod, we’ve got a plane to catch and I haven’t even packed yet.” Ella pushes Erin of off her and gets out of bed.

“No. Wait” Erin groans. “Come back.” Erin reaches out with her hand.

“What?” Ella questions, standing at the side of the bed with her hands on her hips.

“Come here.” Erin pouts, not moving from her spot. When Ella gets close enough, Erin grabs her hand and pulls her down on the bed.

“Erin.” Ella complains. She’s serious about not packing yet. Erin puckers her lips and Ella sees what she’s doing. “I see how this is gonna go. So no. I don’t have time.”

“Oh, come on. We’re leaving in a little bit and your just going what- leave me hanging for a couple of days. That’s so not fair.” Erin grumbles.

“You’re whiny in the mornings.” Ella rolls her eyes. But she leans over Erin. “You are right though.” She smirks. Her hand coming to rest on Erin’s cheek. She closes the distance and presses her lips to Erin’s. “Good morning.” She seems it only fitting to say after the first kiss of the day.

“Morning.” Erin replies and, before Ella can get away, grabs a handful of her shirt and kisses her again not even caring about morning breath.

Ella gets sucked into Erin’s kisses and gets delayed a few minutes before she remembers what she’s supposed to be doing.

Ella pulls away first. “Hey, I have to go. I have to pack.”

“Why didn’t you do that last night?” Erin complains.

“Cuz I was here.” Ella shrugs.

“So this is my fault now.” Erin raises an eyebrow.

“Yes.” Ella smiles down at Erin. “I have to go.” She leans in for one more kiss. It’s meant to be quick but Erin holds her there by the front of her shirt. “Erin.”

“Fine.” Erin releases Ella. “Go. Leave. Get outta here.” She complains and rolls over. Erin’s really enjoying this thing she and Ella have been doing lately. The sleepovers and the kissing mostly. But the rest is good too. She really enjoys spending time with Ella even if they aren’t doing anything in particular.

“I’ll see you in a little bit.” Ella smiles. “Bye Max. See you in a few days.” She pats the dog on the head as she goes.

Ella has about forty-five minutes before the airport van is set to pick them up. She has to, in that time, shower, pack, and eat. Dri is at the counter eating when she passes through. “You’re still here?” Dri asks.

“Not for long. Gotta go.” Ella hurries past her.

Dri laughs as Ella leaves.

She goes back across the hall and both her roommates are eating breakfast, they’re bags packed, and by the door. “Shit.” She mumbles to herself. She should have gotten up earlier. Everyone is already awake. Her roommates look at her curiously as she moves through the apartment to her room.

Ella finds her bag in the closest and throws a few things into it. A couple of shirts, and pairs of shorts, underwear. She leaves the bag open and goes to shower. She showers as quickly as possible and does her hair.

“Ella.” Taryn yells and bangs on the bathroom door. “Let’s go.”

“Coming.” Ella yells back. She finishes up and hurries out of the bathroom with an armful of toiletries and cosmetics. Ella goes into her room and throws them in her bag, zipping it closed. She grabs the bag, her phone charger, and exits the room.

“Okay. I’m ready.” Ellla says. Taryn is standing by the door, it’s open. “Where’s Lori?”

“Downstairs. The van is here. We’re just waiting on you.”

“Everyone’s in the van?” Ella asks as she approaches the door.

“Yep. You over sleep or what?” Taryn asks, not bothering to ask of Ella’s whereabouts. She knows where Ella was even if Ella didn’t tell anyone.

“Something like that.” Ella brushes past her out the door. She literally runs down the stairs and outside. “Sorry, guys.” Ella jumps into the van. She takes in her teammates faces. Lori has a tight-lipped smile. Dri just shakes her head. And then there’s Erin, sitting in the back seat, smirking. Taryn gets into the front seat, next to the driver and they start down the road before Ella is even seated. The only seat that’s left is the one next to Erin. Ella rolls her eyes. She’s never gonna hear the end of it.

“How come you’re so late?” Erin asks as she sits down. Ella puts her bag on the seat between them, separating them.

“Can it, McLeod.” Ella grumbles.

Erin laughs. “Hey, don’t be grumpy at me. I’m not the one who woke up late and wasn’t packed to go.”

“Is that the truth?” Lori turns around and asks. “You knew we were leaving early today.”

Ella looks over to Erin and gives her the evil eye.

“Okay, fine.” Erin drops it. She doesn’t want to get in trouble. Erin puts her headphones on a closes her eyes. Ella turns to face the front of the van. Everyone is in their own little worlds. Ella included.

She can’t stop thinking about the person sitting in the seat next to her. That’s all she’s thought about since she woke up. Well, that and packing and showering. But those things only interrupted her Erin thoughts for a few moments. She takes out her phone and tries to focus on that, but it only works for a few minutes.

Her concentration is interrupted by a tap on her leg. She looks over and Erin is holding out her phone. There’s a video on the screen. It’s of Max. Ella leans over her bag to get a better look. Erin presses play and the video of a baby Max starts. Ella can’t see it very well with the angle. “Wait.” She takes her bag and moves it to her right and she sits in the place where the bag was previously.

Ella moves tight to Erin’s side so she can see the video. Erin holds the phone between them and presses play again. They watch as the video plays on the screen. “How old was he here?” Ella looks to Erin.

Erin smiles. “Three or four months.” She shrugs. She’s not exactly sure but probably somewhere in there.

“Oh. He’s so small.” Ella smiles. Erin just nods. The video ends and Erin brings her phone back to herself. Erin scrolls through her phone before holding it out for Ella to see again. “This is the first picture I took of him.”

“Oh my gosh. He’s so cute.” Ella coos over the pics of little Max.

“I know.” Erin smiles. She’s proud of her boy and how cute he is.

They look at more pictures of baby Max the rest of the way to the airport.

* * *

 

The team was assigned their hotel and plane buddy once everyone arrived at the airport. The team gets to the DC area and is transported to the hotel. They change and go to practice. After practice is dinner and then they are free to do whatever they want within the hotel until curfew at ten.

It’s almost like cheating that Ella got Jackie as her roommate/buddy for the trip. The whole point is team bonding and getting to know somebody better by rooming with them. But Ella and Jackie know each other almost too well. Having played together and been roommates in college will do that.

“You wanna go down to the lobby?” Jackie asks.

“Sure. I think I saw a pool table. Maybe we could get a few games in.” Ella says.

“Wanna see if anyone else wants to go?” Jackie asks.

Ella’s mind hops to one person in particular. “Yeah. We can knock on a couple of doors.”

“Great.” Jackie gets off of her bed and slips her feet into her sandals. “Let’s go.”

Ella follows Jackie out of their hotel room. Jackie starts knocking on the doors of the rooms around them. Doors start opening and heads pop out into the hallway. “Ella and I are going down to the lobby. She saw a pool table. If anybody wants, we are gonna play a few games.” Jackie makes the announcement. She spins around and grabs Ella by the elbow and starts for the elevator.

“Think anyone will come?” Ella asks.

“Yeah, I think we’ll get a few biters.” Jackie smiles over at her friend. “Why? You wanna play somebody in particular? Am I not good enough for you anymore?” Jackie jokes.

“No. No. I don’t care who comes or who wants to play. Just not a lot of the girls might not be up to it.” Ella shrugs. “But if nobody shows up at least I can kick your ass.”

“Yeah right. I’m gonna kick your ass, Masar.” Jackie throws back.

Ella and Jackie start up a game of pool and a couple of teammates come down during their first game. No one’s really interested in playing though. They just want to watch.

They’re in the middle of their third game. Jackie won the first game and Ella came back to win the second. This is the last game they are going to play and it will determine the winner. Jackie is up and Ella is sitting on a stool with her pool stick in her hands. There’s a tap on Ella’s right shoulder so she looks over but there isn’t anybody there. She goes back to watching Jackie line up her shot and a few seconds pass before there is another tap on her shoulder. Ella looks again and again there’s no one there. She thinks it probably one of the three girls from the team that are sitting to her right and just behind her that is doing it. But a few seconds pass and there is another tap and again no one is to her right.

“Ella?” Jackie says, lining up her next shot.

“Yeah.”

“Try your left.” Jackie tells her.

“What?” Ella doesn’t understand.

“Look to your left and behind you.” Jackie rolls her eyes. She saw the tapping culprit standing there from the beginning. She just can’t believe Ella didn’t figure it out.

Ella looks to her left. She almost has to turn around before she sees Erin standing there, her hands folded together in front of her, a sneaky grin plastered on her face. “Hey.” Ella’s eyes hone in on Erin.

“Thanks Jackie.” Erin calls. She steps forward until she’s standing right next to the stool Ella is sitting on. “I can’t believe you didn’t figure that one out.”

“I was watching the game I was focused on that.” Ella tries to defend herself. It doesn’t work very well.

“So, is Jackie kicking your ass?” Erin asks.

“No.” Ella holds her head high. “It’s tied. This game is for win.”

“Okay.” Erin pulls up a stool next to Ella and sits down. She watches as Jackie knocks in all but two of her balls. Ella gets up on Jackie’s miss, confident this can wrap this game up and be the pool champ.

Ella makes all of her remaining shots, winning the game. She raises her pool stick in the air above her head and runs around the pool table. “I win. I win.” She chants. Ella stops at the head of the pool table. “Who’s next?” She asks cocky.

Jackie laughs and shakes her head. “I’m going up to the room.” She puts her pool stick back. “You gonna take her, McLeod?”

“No.” Erin shakes her head. “I’m just observing. Plus, I think I’ll let Ella keep her winning streak intact.” Erin looks directly at Ella.

“Hey.” Ella protests at the thought that Erin could beat her at pool.

“Okay. I’ll probably be in bed when you come back. So just be quiet.” Jackie tells Ella, pulling her attention away from Erin for a moment.

“I will.” Ella says. “I’ll be up in a couple of minutes.” She goes over to the wall and puts her pool stick back. Jackie leaves and takes the other girls with her, leaving Erin and Ella alone at the pool table. Erin stands up from her stool and goes to sit on the pool table. “So, you think you can beat me at pool.” Ella raises a challenging eyebrow at Erin.

“I know I can.” Erin smirks confidently.

“Then let’s do it.” Ella never backs down from a challenge.

“Not tonight. It’s getting late.” Erin says.

“Aww. Are you getting tired old lady?” Ella teases and goes to stand in front of Erin so they are facing each other, purposely bumping into Erin’s leg that dangle from the pool table.

“I’m not old.” Erin pouts.

“You’re three years older than me.” Ella mentions.

“Don’t remind me.” Erin sighs.

Ella changes the subject. “So what brought you down here if you didn’t want to play pool?”

Erin looks down at the floor. “I heard a rumor that you were down here.”

Ella puts her hands on Erin’s knees. “A rumor, huh?” Erin nods. “Well, you found me.”

Erin looks up and smiles. “I did.”

“And why did you want to find me?” Ella asks.

Erin looks away again. “Cuz I wanted to see you before I went to bed.” Her eyes come back to Ella’s. “Or before you went to bed.” Erin puts her right hand over Ella’s on her knee.

“Erin.” Ella whispers softly. “I- I- we-“

“Shh. Don’t say anything. I just needed to see you. Somewhere quiet just you and me for a little bit. Without everyone around.” Erin explains, searching Ella’s eyes, her face.

Ella leans into Erin’s legs. She wants to get closer but she can’t. She knows she can’t. They both know they can’t. Her eyes trace Erin’s face. The slight smile on her lips. The look in those warm brown eyes. That pull, that feeling, drags Ella in. She’s knows she has to go before she gets pulled in too far and can’t get out.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Ella whispers. Erin nods. “Goodnight, Erin.” She says and takes a step back from Erin. Then another.

“Goodnight, beautiful.” Erin whispers.

Ella smiles before turning and leaving Erin sitting on the pool table. Erin sits there for a few minutes just thinking. She’s only thinking about one thing. Ella. And how she wants to be around her all the time now. Everyday. She thinks it’s a funny thing cuz they see each other every day but she somehow wants more. It’s a scary thing cuz this thing they’re doing, whatever it is, is so new, so fresh. It’s scary and exciting and new and emotional and thought provoking. Erin doesn’t have her head wrapped around it yet. She’s thinks she’s far from that but every day she gets up and she wants more.

* * *

 

Ella sits down in a window seat on the bus. She’s one of the first ones on after the game. She has her headphones on and she’s looking through her texts. She has two from her sister. One from before the game saying good luck and one from after the game asking how it went. Ella sends a quick text back as her teammates board the bus. Someone sits down in the seat next to her as Ella finishes typing out her text. She looks over as she hits send to see Erin sitting there.

“Hey.” Erin smiles.

Ella nods without taking her headphones off. “Hi.” She goes back to her phone, making sure she doesn’t have any more messages.

Erin gets situated and pulls out a pair of headphones herself and puts them on, starting some music. The rest of the team and the coaches board the bus. The bus starts away from the stadium back to the hotel. It’s dark and quite on the bus. It’s about a fifteen minute drive back to the hotel.

A few minutes in, Erin leans over in her seat, bumping into Ella’s shoulder with her own. She’s pulls her headphones from her ear and she points to her ears for Ella to do the same.

Ella looks at Erin curiously through the dark as she removes her headphones from her ears. “What?”

Erin smirks. “You know you’ll always be a peasant, right?” Bringing back up the discussion of Ella being knighted.

Ella scowls. “That’s why you’re bothering me?” She doesn’t want to deal with this right now.

Erin frowns. “Bothering you?” She shakes her head. “Oh come on, Ella.” Erin smiles and leans dangerously close. “I would never _bother_ you.”

Ella narrows her eyes at Erin. “Maybe bother isn’t the right word, but still. I will continue trying to get my princess status. One day. You’ll see. I won’t be a peasant forever.”

“It’s good to stay positive and to have dreams and goals.” Erin jokes.

Ella just shakes her head and looks away from Erin, out the window. She puts her headphones back on. She doesn’t want to deal with Erin’s antics right now. Ella’s not really a fan of the whole ‘peasant’ thing. She goes along with it for the show and for the fans but she doesn’t really like it.

A few seconds later there is a hand on her knee. Ella knows whose hand it is. Ella swats at the hand but it holds firm. She looks over to Erin when she won’t remove her hand. Ella doesn’t want to call attention to it or to Erin by saying anything. She gives Erin a stare down though.

“Are you mad at me?” Erin whispers sadly.

Ella doesn’t have to remove her headphones or hear what Erin said to know what she said. She shakes her head. “No.” Ella whispers. She pats Erin’s hand. “No.” She looks away again, out the window again.

Erin wonders what’s up with Ella. She’s concerned about the girl and wonders what’s going on in that head of hers. Erin thought today had gone well. The game and the impromptu sharpie interview after the game went well. Erin didn’t see much of Ella during the day as she went shopping with a few girls and Ella hung out with Jackie and Alyssa during the day but when she did see her she was happy and inviting. Right now Ella seems opposite.

* * *

 

They get back to the hotel late. Everyone goes to their rooms and gets ready for bed. Ella can never sleep after away games. Especially if they are night games. She changes into her pajamas and gets into bed. Jackie is already in bed and asleep. Ella gets out the book she brought with for just this situation and opens it up.

She starts reading but isn’t really comprehending anything. Her brain won’t let her read. It won’t stop thinking. Thinking about the game today. Thinking about the goal she scored. Thinking about her dad. She thinks about him all the time, but especially when she scores a goal. Thinking about her dad leads to thinking about everything that’s happened since he died. Which is usually a sad thing, but tonight Ella finds herself smiling. Smiling about the things that have happened in her life over last few months.

Ella picks her book back up with a smile on her face. But before she can start reading again her phone lights up with a text message. Ella looks down to see who it’s from. It’s late and she doesn’t know who would be texting her at this hour.

**Are you awake? I can’t sleep.** Ella stares down at the text from Erin. She’s not sure if she should respond. Or if she wants to respond. She doesn’t want to be mean though. If she doesn’t respond Erin will just assume she’s asleep. If she does she doesn’t know what to respond with. It’s not like Ella can do anything. It’s after curfew and she can’t just go to Erin’s room or anything. Even though that is one of the first things she thinks to do.

Ella picks up her phone and types out a message. **I’m awake.** It’s not too much and it’s not too little, she thinks.

Erin doesn’t reply right away and Ella frowns at her phone. She wonders why Erin was texting her if she wasn’t going to answer after the initial text.

Ella starts reading her book and a few minutes pass. She looks down at her phone every few seconds but there’s nothing there. She reads the same paragraph a dozen times but doesn’t comprehend it. She gets frustrated and looks at her phone again. There’s something there this time.

**Go to your door.**

Ella gets out of bed and crosses the room as quickly and quietly as possible. She looks into the peephole of the door and sees Erin standing there in shorts and a t-shirt, her phone in her left hand. Ella opens the door, flips the doorstop so she can get back in, and steps out into the hallway. Ella looks left and then right. “What are you doing here? You’re going to get in trouble.” Ella whispers.

“I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t stop thinking about something. And if I get in trouble so what.” Erin looks straight ahead at Ella.

“And what do you want me to do about it?” Ella asks. She figures she can’t do anything about it, especially not here in the hallway. She looks around again to make sure no ones in the hallway, paranoid that someone will spot them.

“Hey.” Erin cranes her neck trying to get Ella to focus on her and not the hallway. “Ella, please.”

Ella snaps back to Erin when Erin uses her name. She likes it when Erin uses her name, the way she says it. Erin smiles and it gets Ella’s lips to curl into a smile too. “What were you thinking about?” Ella asks.

Erin thinks that’s more like Ella. Thoughtful and considerateb not snappy and rude. “Well, before. On the bus on the way back to the hotel.  I asked if you were mad at me and you said no but I- I don’t know- it’s dumb.” Erin’s the one to look away from the other now.

“Hey. If something’s bothering you, it’s not dumb. What is it?” Ella asks.

“Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?” Erin looks down at the floor, embarrassed.

Ella reaches out and takes Erin’s hand. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m not mad at you. I promise. I just wasn’t in the mood to be told that I’ll always be a peasant.” Ella bites on her bottom lip nervously.

Erin looks up and raises an eyebrow at Ella. “That’s it?” She asks. Ella nods. “You know that’s just a joke, right? I don’t think you’re a peasant. That’s just a joke. Oh my god. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you didn’t like it. Like, actually, didn’t like it. Not that you just didn’t want to be a peasant. Oh my god, Ella.” Erin starts freaking out.

“If you want me to stop, I will. I’ll never call you a peasant again. I’ll put an end to it. Not on the show. Not on the internet. Not around the team. Or at home. Or anywhere. I’ll stop.”

Ella giggles a little at how bent out of shape Erin is. “I don’t like it. It’s not mean, exactly. But it certainly doesn’t make me feel good. I think it got carried away and now it’s part of the show and the fans know about it. But, maybe if you could-“

“Done. I won’t- ever. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know it affected you so negatively. You’re not a peasant. Anything but.” Erin babbles on.

“Erin?” Ella asks with a smirk.

“Yeah.”

“I’m not mad at you.” Ella smiles and swings their hands back and forth between them. “Okay?” She asks. Erin nods. “Is there anything else?”

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” Erin smirks.

“No. I just don’t want you to get in trouble. Or me, really.” Ella says simply. “You think you can sleep now that we’ve resolved this?”

Erin nods. “Probably. But, now I’m thinking about something else.” Erin shrugs.

Ella chuckles. She squeezes Erin’s hand. “Don’t worry about it, Erin. Just go to bed.” Ella leans in and kisses Erin’s cheek.

“Okay.” Erin smiles.

“Goodnight.” Ella grins at the goofy grin on Erin’s face. “What?” Ella asks.

“Nothing.” Erin shakes her head. “Goodnight, beautiful.” Erin squeezes Ella’s hand before letting it go and turning to go back to her room. Ella watches with a smile on her face as Erin goes down the hallway, stops in front of her door, looks over at Ella, and smiles before going into her hotel room.

Ella steps back into her room and gets back into bed. She picks up her book and starts reading right away, but doesn’t get more than a page finished before she feels tired and puts the book down and turns off the light.


	6. Chapter 6

The alarm in the hotel room goes off at six in the morning. In Ella’s mind, that’s far too early but they have a schedule they must maintain. And they have to be at the airport by eight for the flight back to Chicago. She shuts the alarm off and gets out of bed. Ella doesn’t have to worry about a shower because she took one after the game but she does needs to pack up all of her belongs.

“It’s so early.” Jackie rubs at her eyes when her fists.

“I’ll agree with that.” Ella says. She grabs some clothes and her toothbrush and goes into the bathroom.

The team has breakfast in the hotel lobby together. They all gather their belongings afterwards and get in shuttle buses for the airport.

The flight back isn’t too long. A couple of hours but Ella’s so over it. She just wants to get home and take a nap in her own bed. Jackie is passed out in the seat next to her on the plane. Ella wishes she could sleep on planes but she just can’t. Never could. She looks at the seats around her. Everyone is asleep or if they’re not asleep they have their eyes closed. Ella sighs happily when the captain comes over the intercom and announces that they are starting the descent into Chicago.

The team gets off the plane in an orderly fashion. The girls are free to go after they get their belongings from baggage claim with the rest of the day off. It’s recovery day and they aren’t supposed to do too much. No running, no lifting, no extreme exercise, basically. Ella waits with Lori for their bags. She’s going to get home the same way she got to the airport. In a van with Lori, Taryn, Dri, and Erin.

* * *

 

Ella’s unpacking when her phone chimes with a new message. She picks her phone up off of the bed and looks at the screen and breaks out into a huge grin.

Erin didn’t say anything when they got off the plane, in the airport, while they were waiting for the van, in the van, or on the way up to their apartments. But the text isn’t completely out of the blue.

**So are you coming over today or not?**

Ella smiles down at the phone as she types out a response before putting the phone down again. She unpacks as fast as possible and heads out of her room.

“I’ll be across the hall, guys.” Ella tells her roommates.

“What, are we not good enough for you? Have to go hang out with the Canadians.” Taryn says with a smirk. Ella stops and turns to face her roommates

“No. I- I just-“ Ella feels caught. She doesn’t know what to say. “If you guys wanna hang out, we can. I was just- Do you wanna hang out?” Ella fumbles through her words.

Taryn laughs. “No, kid. Go ahead. Go see Erin.”

“Okay.” Ella smiles and turns for the door. “Wait.” She looks back at Taryn. “What?” She questions.

“Well, unless you became speed best friends with Dri I’m assuming…” Taryn fades off.

“Oh, well, yeah.” Ella was worried there for a second that Taryn knew something. “I’ll be back later.” Ella says awkwardly and leaves before anyone can say anything else.

She crosses the hallway and pushes the door open. She doesn’t see anybody but then Max comes running from the bedroom. “Hey, buddy.” Ella bends down and picks him up when he gets to her. “Did you miss me?” She asks the dog.

“I don’t know about him but I sure did.” Erin comes out from the bedroom. She walks over to Ella and kisses her.

Ella pulls away quickly. “Erin.” She scolds.

“Dri’s gone.” Erin puts her hand on Ella’s hip and goes in for another kiss. This one is longer but is interrupted by Max licking excitedly at their jaws.

“Maxwell.” Erin scolds as she pulls back. “Not cool.”

Ella giggles. “Max is just excited to see me. Looks like he’s not the only one.”

“You’re right about that.” Erin smiles. “Did you have lunch?” She wants to get things moving along.

Ella shakes her head. “No. What were you thinking?”

Erin shrugs. “I’ve got plenty of stuff in the fridge. I could make something. Something simple. I don’t know how you’re feeling but I could really use a nap.”

Ella raises an eyebrow at Erin. “So you called me over here to take a nap with you.”

Erin looks away from Ella, feeling ridiculously silly. “I texted. But yeah.”

Ella smiles. “I was kidding. I would love to nap with you. Is Max going to be joining us?”

Erin looks at the dog that Ella in holding between their bodies. “No. I think he’s gonna have to fend for himself after interrupting us.”

Ella nods. “So, about lunch?”

Erin laughs. “Put Max down and you can help me.”

“What a privilege.” Ella jokes.

Erin raises an eyebrow and threatens. “You want food or not?”

“Yeah. Yeah.” Ella says.

Ella stands next to Erin at the kitchen counter as they assemble turkey sandwiches. After sandwiches, Erin tugs Ella into her bedroom by the hand. Max follows them curious to see what’s going on. As soon as they are in the room, Erin shuts the door. “Max you stay on your doggy bed. We get the big bed.” Erin says in a cute little voice.

Ella smiles. She loves seeing Erin and Max interact. They both love each other so much. It’s cute.

Max curls up on his bed and settles in for a nap. Erin smiles down at her dog and then looks up and over at Ella. “What?” She asks.

“Nothing.” Ella smiles. “Come here.” Ella motions for Erin to come over to her. She sits down on the bed and waits.

Erin takes the few steps that are needed to get to Ella. She smiles and sits down right next to her. In her mind, the perfect afternoon would be them taking a nap and then waking up and talking about some things, then having dinner, and possibly doing something with their roommates. Erin would love to end the day back where she is now. With Ella, in her bed, for the night. And she’s going to try hard to make that happen.

“Will you take a nap with me?” Erin asks with a cheesy grin.

“I already said I would.” Ella smiles.

“Good.” Erin leans in and kisses Ella. After, she flops backwards onto the bed with a sigh. Erin repositions herself so that she’s sitting on her pillow and pulls the sheets down and gets underneath. Ella stands up so she can get into bed a lot easier than the route Erin decided to take. She pulls back the sheets and slips into the bed next to Erin.

Erin rolls on her side and waits for Ella to do the same. They share a kiss. Erin wraps Ella up in her arms, and pulls her to her chest, slipping her leg between Ella’s.

This is different for Ella. Not different in a bad way. But, it’s more intimate than it has been with them before. She thinks maybe it’s because of the time they’ve spent apart in the last two plus days. She settles her body comfortably into Erin’s with a content sigh. This feels good.

“Sleep well.” Erin kisses Ella’s forehead.

“Oh, I will.” Ella always sleeps well when she sleeps with Erin. “You too, Erin.”

“Goodnight, beautiful.” Erin says.

Ella giggles. “It’s not night.” She looks at Erin curiously.

Erin tilts her head to the side, thinking for a moment. “Good afternoon just doesn’t sound appropriate for what I want to say. So, goodnight beautiful, it is.” Erin presses her lips to Ella’s.

Ella savors it. The kiss and the words that Erin speaks. She doesn’t know if she’ll ever get over the sweet words that Erin says to her. “Goodnight, Erin.” Ella settles for. It’s not exactly what she wants to say but it’s what she does say.

* * *

 

Ella yawns and stretches her arms above her head as she wakes up.

“Did you sleep well?” Erin asks. She woke up a few minutes ago and has been watching as Ella slept.

“What time is it?” Ella asks, laying on her back, looking up at the ceiling.

Erin looks at her watch. “Ten after four.” Erin tucks Ella’s hair behind her ear. “Why? Got somewhere to be?” Erin asks.

Ella shakes her head. “Nope. I was just curious.” Ella rolls onto her side so she can see Erin. Erin gives her the softest smile. “What do you have planned?” Ella asks.

“How do you know I have something planned?” Erin raises an eyebrow.

“Cuz I know you.” Ella shrugs against the bed.

“Oh, is that so?” Erin jokes.

“Yeah, silly.” Ella leans in and presses her lips to Erin’s. “I know you’ve been thinking about this, probably since our little hallway encounter last night.”

“Busted.” Erin grins. “I’ve been thinking about what I would do with you the next time I got you all to myself.”

“Do you know how dirty that sounds?” Ella smirks.

“Now that I hear it out loud, yes.” Erin bites her bottom lip. “And what I was thinking is totally the opposite from dirty. Although, now that you brought it up.” She smirks devilishly.

Ella swats at Erin’s arm. “Erin.”

“I’m kidding. Can we talk?” She asks. Ella shrugs. “Okay.” Erin forges forward. She’s got a lot on her mind. “I know we talked about the peasant thing last night. And again, I’m sorry about that.” Erin reaches over and put her hand on Ella’s hip. “I won’t do it anymore if you don’t like it.” She massages her thumb over and around Ella’s hipbone.

“It’s fine. I’m mean I’m not fond of it but if it’s once or twice here and there for a joke or something. For the show or something it fine. But I don’t want it to become a regular thing. Not around the team or friends or around here.” Ella explains vaguely.

“Okay.” Erin sighs. She’s makes a promise to herself to cut down on the peasant jokes. Erin feels bad that she’s been calling Ella a peasant all this time and Ella doesn’t like it. “Stay over tonight.” Erin blurts out. She wants to make it better. She wants to repay Ella in some way for making fun of her, for making her feel bad.

Ella bites her lip, thinking about it. She’s got a lot to do. And she really shouldn’t. “I’m going to my sister’s tomorrow to see my nieces and I’m staying overnight there. I have a lot to do before then.”

“All the more reason.” Erin tells her. “If you’re not gonna be around tomorrow. Stay here tonight.” Erin nearly begs. She gives Ella the pout and puppy dog eyes.

That seals the deal. “Okay.” Ella rolls her eyes, not being able to resist. She finds herself everyday giving in just a little bit more. Almost like it’s out of her control. But she can’t really say no to whatever Erin asks anymore. She’s thinks she’s starting to dig a hole that she won’t be able to get out of if she needed to.

“Sweet.” Erin leans in for a kiss. “Can I ask you something, though?”

“Sure.”

“What is this?” Erin asks bluntly.

“What do you mean?” Ella asks. She knows damn well what Erin means.

“This.” Erin motions between them. “You and me.” She tucks some hair behind Ella’s ear and rest her palm on her cheek. “We spend the night together. We kiss. We cuddle. What does that make us?”

Ella swallows thickly. She doesn’t want to talk about this. She doesn’t want to have to deal with it because it means she has to deal with a ton of other things, emotions, feelings. “Erin, I don’t want to put a label on this. Okay?”

Erin nods. It’s not okay for her though. She wants to know. She wants to know where this thing they’ve started is going. Erin’s already thinking about the future. The next few weeks, the months after that. “So do you not want to-“ She can’t finish her sentence. Erin doesn’t want to think about that. She needs to know what Ella is thinking but she can’t get much out of her.

“I- this isn’t- can we not talk about this right now?” Ella asks.

Erin sighs. “Okay.” She said she wouldn’t push. Erin rolls over onto her back, removing her hand from Ella’s face. She looks up at the ceiling and wonders what to do.

Ella scoots over and puts her chin on Erin’s bicep. “I’m sorry. Some other time, okay. Just not right now.” Ella whispers. She just can’t. She’s still trying to figure it out. She’s still fighting a war, the biggest war of her life. It’s been going on for the last couple of years. She been fighting the uncertainty of everything in her life since her dad died. This is just the latest battle in that fight.

“Let’s get some dinner.” Ella suggests.

“Okay.” Erin gets out of bed and walks out of the room, leaving Ella behind her. She’s not mad but she’s sure frustrated. She opens the fridge and starts taking ingredients out to cook a meal. Erin focuses solely on that. She cooks dinner for the two of them as Ella plays with Max in the other room. Erin hopes she’s just hungry and that the heavy feeling in her stomach will pass once she eats.

It doesn’t.

* * *

 

Erin invites Dri to watch a movie with them after dinner. Dri sits on the couch in between Erin and Ella, separating them. Erin is relieved. She thinks she might go stir crazy if she had to sit next to Ella for two hours without being able to touch her.

The movie ends and Dri goes to her room.

“I’m gonna take Max for a walk. You wanna come with?” Erin asks.

“No. I’m gonna head home and grab a few things. But I’ll be back.” Ella tells Erin.

“Okay.” Erin gets up. “Come on Max.” He sat on Ella’s lap during the movie and took a little nap. He jumps off her lap and runs after Erin. She hooks up his leash and they are out the door.

Ella throws her head back into the back of the couch. It’s awkward. So awkward. And it’s her fault. She and Erin have hardly said anything to each other since before dinner. She knows Erin invited Dri to watch a movie with them to try and reduce the awkward.

Ella gets up and goes over to her apartment. She changes her clothes to something to sleep in and brushes her teeth. Ella grabs her phone charger before heading back across the hall. She goes to Erin’s room and waits for her and Max to return. Ella plugs her phone in and gets into bed, under the covers.

Erin comes back after a few minutes and finds Ella in her bed. Already asleep. She sighs. Erin hates this weird limbo that they find themselves in. She doesn’t want to be pushy. She would hate it if she scared Ella away for good. But she wants more. She wants answers and she isn’t getting any. Even through all that, though, she smiles at the girl in her bed. Ella in her sleeping state, looking as beautiful as ever.

Erin gives Max a treat and gets into bed. Ella doesn’t wake up so Erin curls up next her, just looking, watching. “I wish you would tell me what’s going on in that pretty head of yours.” Erin whispers solemnly. She leans in and gently kisses Ella’s cheek. “Goodnight, beautiful.”

Ella tries not to move a muscle. Erin thought she was asleep but she’s not. She was just resting her eyes and waiting for Erin to come back. She didn’t open her eyes when Erin came in the room because Erin didn’t say anything. Before she knew it Erin was in bed next to her and she thought it would be weird to just ‘wake up’ at that moment.

She heard everything Erin said and how sad Erin sounded when she said it. It breaks her heart that she’s hurting the sweet girl that has offered her so much. She realizes how selfish she’s being. Ella lays there for a long time just thinking. Thinking that something needs to changing. Thinking that this isn’t working. She’s too afraid to move, even after she knows Erin is asleep.

* * *

 

Erin gets up early in the morning. Today is a new day. She kisses Ella on the forehead, careful not to wake her, and heads out with Max for a walk. When they return from the walk Erin starts on breakfast. Omelets for her, Ella, and Dri for before their morning practice.

Dri comes out of her bedroom first. “Smells great. What are you making?”

“Omelets.”

“Awesome. Thanks.” Dri starts getting some plates and silverware out.

Ella awakens to the smell of food. She rubs her eyes and looks around the bedroom. Erin is gone. She gets out of bed and goes to see what that food smell is. She rounds the corner, into the kitchen, to Dri and Erin standing at the stove.

Erin looks over first, expecting Ella. Dri on the other hand doesn’t. “You’re still here?” Dri questions.

Ella shrugs, sheepish, looking down at the floor. “I can go. If you want.”

“No.” Erin speaks up, maybe a little too eagerly. “You’re not going anywhere. I made you an omelet.”

“Okay. Thanks.” Ella, awkwardly, goes to sit at the island counter to wait for her breakfast. She’s not sure if she should help or just sit there or if she should say something. Ella mostly just looks down at the countertop.

Dri eyes Erin curiously. The wheels start turning in a certain direction in her head. She looks over at Ella with her messy blonde hair and all. It’s no coincidence that Ella is always in the apartment. She’s there for a specific reason. “Damn.” Dri mumbles under her breath.

“What?” Erin asks, hearing her.

“Nothing. Are the omelets done yet?” Dri plays it off.

“Just a little bit longer.” Erin tells her.

Erin serves up three omelets moments later. Dri sits next to Ella and they eat. Erin stands on the opposite side of the counter eating her omelet.

Erin strikes up the conversation. “So are you going to be back in time for practice tomorrow?” Erin asks.

“Yeah.” Ella says around a bite of food.

“Where are you going?” Dri asks.

“To see my niece’s. They don’t live too far away.” Ella tells her newest teammate.

“They’re so cute.” Erin coos. Ella looks over at her and smiles. “Show her a picture.” Erin says excitedly. The first time she saw Ella’s niece’s was at a game earlier in the season. She had asked Ella about them afterwards and asked to see a picture.

“Okay.” Ella smiles. She’s a very proud aunt. She gets out her phone and finds her favorite picture of her and the two little girls to show Dri.

“They are very cute.” Dri says.

“They are. I can’t wait to see them tonight.” Ella looks at the picture fondly before setting her phone down and finishing her breakfast. “But first, we have practice and they we have to tape the next show, and then I can go see them.”

“Excuse me?” Erin stares over at Ella.

“Yeah. Didn’t I tell you?” Ella looks back.

“Uh, no.” Erin shakes her head.

“Well, we are taping another episode today.” Ella shrugs. She must have forgotten to tell Erin about it.

“Thanks for letting me know.” Erin rolls her eyes. “Last minute.” She mumbles.

“Hey, I have everything all set up. Everything is taken care of. All you have to do is show up.” Ella tells her co-host.

“I thought we were doing this together. Don’t I get a say in anything that happens on the show?” Erin questions. She doesn’t think it’s fair.

“Uh-“ Ella fumbles for something to say. She looks to Dri for help.

“Don’t look at me.” Dri raises her hands in the air. “I want nothing to do with this. You two can fight it out.”

“We’re not fighting.” Ella says, matter-of-factly.

“Okay. I just- you know what I’ll leave you two alone to discuss it. I’m going to get ready for practice.” Dri gets up and leaves the room as quickly as she can. She doesn’t want to be in the middle of those two. She doesn’t want to have anything to do with the show. Ella ambushed her the other day to do a live episode after the game. She was nervous and awkward and doesn’t want to do that again.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Erin asks.

“I forgot. Sorry.” Ella looks down at her plate.

“Now I’m not prepared. What are we doing? Who’s gonna be on the show?” Erin doesn’t want to go into the show unprepared. And she definitely doesn’t want Ella to point out that she’s not prepared during the taping.

“Alyssa and Jackie. I talked to Jackie about it when we were in Washington.” Ella brings her plate over to the sink. “It’s all set up but if you want to think of a few question at ask them you can.” Ella smiles cheesy at Erin, hoping to smooth things over with her. “I really did forget.”

“It’s fine.” Erin reaches out and pulls Ella into a hug. “At least I found out now and not like fifteen minute before we tape.”

Ella giggles. “Yeah.” They stand there for a few moments in their embrace. Erin rubbing her hands up and down Ella’s back. “What are you thinking?” Ella asks pulling back to see Erin’s face. Erin has been pretty quiet all morning.

Erin shrugs. “Honestly?” She asks and Ella nods. “That I’m gonna miss doing this tonight.” Erin settles her hands at the small of Ella’s back.

“Oh.” Ella looks away, guilty. “Well, at least I stayed over last night.” They both know that didn’t turn out the way they wanted. “And I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“I know. It’s just a weird feeling. I’ll have to ask Max for cuddles tonight.” Erin jokes.

Ella laughs. “I’m sure he’d agree right away but probably wouldn’t like it if you squeezed the crap out of him.”

Erin tilts her head to the side. “Do I squeeze the crap out of you?” She asks.

Ella shrugs. “No, but he’s tiny. You know what I mean.”

“I do.” Erin smiles and leans in for a kiss. It’s the last one she’s gonna get, so she makes it worth it. It’s really really worth it when Ella hums into the kiss. Erin changes it up and tugs Ella’s bottom lip out between her teeth before letting it go with a pop. She smiles down at the girl in her arms. Ella blushes up at Erin. “So cute.” Erin mumbles.

The events of yesterday evening nearly forgotten by both of them.

* * *

 

“This is ridiculous. This episode is just a bunch of giggling. I can’t believe this.” Alyse says as Ella walks away from the camera. “And we don’t have anything for the ticket give away yet.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Ella looks down at the floor thinking about how to give away tickets for their next home game. “Can I think about it tonight? We can tape something tomorrow before practice. And then you can get the video up.”

“Sure. But you have to think of something.” Alyse tells her sternly.

“I will.” Ella bends over and takes off the cowboy boots. “How do you wear these things, Alyssa. They pinch my feet.”

Everyone in the room laughs. Ella throws the boots down on the floor and walks out of the room. “I’m outta here.”

“What about my clothes?” Alyssa yells, collecting her boots and running after Ella.

Ella’s in a hurry. She goes into a room to change out of the clothes she’s wearing and back into her own clothes. Her own clothes consist of her own shorts and a shirt of Erin’s.

Alyssa waits outside the door for Ella to finish changing. Erin and Jackie come up from behind her. “What’s her hurry?” Alyssa asks.

“She’s going to see her nieces. She’s very excited about it.” Erin supplies the information they are all looking for.

“Oh, the little munchkins.” Jackie comments.

The door swings open and Ella pops out. “Woah, guys. Thanks for the welcoming party but I gotta go.” Ella smiles happily. She hands the clothes to Alyssa and slips past them. “Erin are you coming?”

“You’re going with her?” Jackie asks.

“No. But she’s gonna drop me at home.” Erin says and starts after Ella, who is halfway down the hallway already.

“Say hello to the girls for me.” Jackie yells after them. She’s met and spent some time with Ella’s nieces before. Jackie knows most of Ella’s family pretty well.

Ella spins around and starts walking backwards. “I will.” She waves back and Jackie and Alyssa. “Come on.” She motions for Erin to hurry up. She slows down a little so Erin can catch up to her.

“You’re very excited.” Erin says, finding it very cute.

“You would be too if you knew my nieces. They are very special to me.” Ella grins. “Let’s go. I can’t wait to see them.”

“Okay.” Ella and Erin walk out to Ella’s car. Ella gets in the driver’s seat and starts it up while Erin gets in the passenger’s seat. “What are you gonna do tonight?” Erin asks.

“I don’t know. My sister and her husband are going out to dinner. I’m babysitting by myself. I’m sure I’ll be playing and crawling around on the floor with them.” Ella smiles.

“I’m sure you’ll have a good time.” Erin comments.

Ella pulls up to the apartment building and parks. She’s not even going to go inside. She has her overnight bag in the back. She’s just dropping Erin off. “So, uh- I’ll see you tomorrow at practice.” Ella says awkwardly.

“Yep.” Erin smiles over to Ella. “I really want to kiss you right now but that wouldn’t be cool would it?” Erin asks.

Ella bites her bottom lip and looks down, shaking her head. “Sorry. I- uh- I- sorry.” Ella stutters.

Erin reaches out for Ella’s right hand, taking it, and giving it a squeeze. “Have fun.” She smiles. Ella nods not sure what to say. Erin releases her hand and opens the car door. “Bye.” Erin says as she gets out.

“Bye.” Ella says automatically. She stays there watching as Erin enters the building feeling like a complete putz. The goalkeeper is gone for a whole minute before Ella snaps out of it and puts the car in drive. She pulls out onto the street and is on her way.

 


	7. Chapter 7

Ella has been busy since the moment she got to her sister’s house. The girls ran outside the second she pulled into the driveway. After hugs and hellos, they pulled Ella into the house for a tea party.

Her sister and brother-in-law went out for a dinner date and Ella feed, bathed, and played with the kids. She put in a movie after bath time and they were both asleep twenty minutes in. Ella brought the girls up to their rooms and put them to bed. She came back downstairs, got a beer out of the fridge, her phone, and sat down to watch the rest of the kid’s movie.

She looks at her phone and has two texts and one missed call. The missed call is from her sister, followed by a text from her telling Ella that they will be home by ten. The other text is from Erin.

**How’s it going with the kiddos?**

Ella smiles down at her phone. It’s nice of Erin to ask how things are going. Even if the text is from a few hours ago. Ella starts a message back. **All went well. The kids are in bed.** She hits send right away.

A few seconds later Ella gets another message. **I’m glad everything went well. What you up to now?**

Ella takes a drink from her beer. **Just chillin on the couch watchin tv and drinkin a beer. Waiting for my sister to get home.**

She waits for Erin’s text. It doesn’t take long. **Sounds like a pretty good Friday nite. :)**

Ella hears the keys in the lock on the front door. She reads the text quickly and starts her response. Her sister and brother-in-law walk in the door as she’s typing. **It was a great night. My sister just got home.**

“We’re back.” Seredy says and sits in the chair across from the couch.

“How was your evening?” Ella asks.

“Very good. Thanks for watching the girls.” Her brother-in-law says.

“It was my pleasure. I love those little buggers.” Ella smiles. Her phone chimes in her hand with a new message. Ella looks down at it.

**Well I’ll let you get back to it. Have fun. I’ll see you tomorrow.**

“Well, I’m headed to bed.” He says.

“Goodnight.” Ella says.

“Were the kids really good or are you just making that up?” Her sister asks.

Ella’s busy typing out a message. **See you tomorrow. Goodnight.** She sends the message to Erin.

Ella looks over at her older sister. “No, the girls were great. We ate. We played. I bathed them. Then I put a movie in and they fell asleep. It was pretty easy.”

“You think it’s easy when you only have them for a few hours. They’re good girls but they can be a handful. Two handfuls sometimes. You ever think of having kids?” Her sister asks.

The question jolts Ella. She thinks about it for a second. “I don’t know. I used to think I’d have kids. Like after soccer. But that was when I thought I knew who I was gonna marry.” She brings up her ex. “But we both know how that ended.”

“Yeah.” Her sister nods solemnly.

Ella’s phone chimes again and she looks at it. **Goodnight, beautiful.** The text reads simply. Ella smiles down at the message. Every time Erin uses those words Ella can’t help but smile.

“Someone special?” Ella’s sister asks when she sees the smile on Ella’s face.

“What?” Ella looks over at her sister again. She wants to say no but she doesn’t want to lie to her sister.

“The look on your face. That smile that I hardly ever see any more unless you’re playing with my kids. Whoever you just got a text from is someone special to you, right?”

Ella sighs. “It’s complicated.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Seredy asks.

Ella shakes her head. “Not really.” She bites at her lip nervously.

Her sister stands up and walks over to the couch. She sits down next to Ella and puts a hand on her knee. “Ella, you deserve to be happy. This mystery texter seems to make you happy. Happy enough to be smiling like a fool at a text message. I don’t know what’s so complicated about that. I don’t know what the situation is but I think you should follow your heart. It won’t lead you astray.” She pauses and looks at Ella.

Ella won’t make eye contact with her so she continues on. “Aren’t you always the one preaching about love. If it’s complicated, it’s complicated. Un-complicate it if you can. I don’t know. All I know is that I want to see my little sister happy. It seems pretty clear to me that this guy makes you happy. Am I correct?”

Ella nods. “Yeah.” She says looking down at her lap. Her sister is right except for one thing.

Seredy pats Ella’s knee and gets up. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight, little sis. And I hope we get to meet this mystery texter one day.”

Ella hums and nods as her sister leaves the room. She sits on the couch a long time before she decides she needs to try to sleep.

* * *

 

After breakfast, Ella walks out to her car with her sister and nieces in tow. They all exchange hugs and kisses and Ella gets in her car. She starts the car and rolls down the windows, waving out at the kids. Ella puts the car into reverse and starts backing out of the driveway. “Bye.” She yells.

“Bye.” The girls chorus back.

“Un-complicate it.” Her sister says with a smirk.

Ella backs out and gets onto the road. With one more wave she leaves. She thinks about what her sister said. She thinks about it all the way home.

Ella goes straight to the gym when she gets back. She gets to work right away on her lifting regimen. Some of her teammates show up throughout the remainder of the morning. They come and go but Ella is the one who’s in the gym the longest.

When she’s done lifting, Ella goes for a light run in an attempt to clear her mind. The opposite happens. She’s been stuck in her head all day. Usually working out helps to clear her mind but not today.

Ella grabs something to eat before the team has practice. It’s a light practice and is over in less than an hour. She goes home and showers after practice. Usually Ella will shower at the facility, but not today. She’s so focused that she doesn’t want to be around anyone for a little bit. She’s got to get her head straight. She’s been thinking about what her sister said and thinks she may have come to a solution. The only thing is that ‘the solution’ is going to take a lot of strength and courage on her part. She’s thinks she’s going to have to psyche herself up to actually go through with it.

* * *

 

Ella makes herself something to eat after her shower. She braids her hair while her food cooks. Ella plates her food, grabs a fork, and heads across the hall. Finally feeling like she’s knows what she’s doing.

Ella pushes the door open but no one is on the other side. No Max. No Erin. No Dri. She takes a bite of her food. She knows someone has to be in the apartment, the door was unlocked. Ella ventures through the room. She sees that Erin’s bedroom door is open and heads in that direction first. She sticks her head in the room. “Erin.” But no one is there.

Ella takes another bite of her food from her plate. She spins around and raises her hand to knock on Dri’s door when the door opens. “Oh, hi.” Ella says around her mouthful of food.

Dri looks at Ella curiously. With her plate of food, wet braided hair, and no shirt. “I thought I heard someone out here.” Dri says.

“Just me. Whatcha up to?” Ella asks casually.

“I was reading. What are you doing? Other than standing in our hallway eating a plate of rice.” Dri asks. She doesn’t know if she’s ever going to get used to the strange things Ella does.

“Oh, I was looking for Erin. I have something I-“ Ella pauses. Maybe she shouldn’t say anything more.

“She took Max for a walk and I think she was gonna pick up some food.” Dri explains.

Ella looks around, left and right. “Oh, uh- you want some?” She holds the plate of rice towards Dri.

Dri giggles. “No. I already ate. But thank you.”

“Okay. I’ll let you get back to what you were doing.” Ella starts walking away from Dri.

“Reading. I was reading, Ella.” Dri says after her.

“Yeah, that.” Ella goes over to the island counter and sits at one of the stools so she can finish her food. She finishes and rinses off her plate in the sink. Erin still hasn’t returned. Ella is determined to talk to her tonight. Ella goes over to the couch and lays down. She folds her hands over her stomach and stares up at the ceiling. Now that she doesn’t have anything to do her brain starts overthinking again. She closes her eyes and focuses on her breathing. In and out. In and out. Simple. It keeps her mind clear. It keeps any nerves away.

Ella falls asleep.

When she wakes up it’s because a little dog is licking her face. Ella rolls her head back and forth. “Max. Stop.” She whines.

Erin laughs and reaches out and picks Max up off of Ella’s chest. “Good job, buddy.” Erin congratulates him.

Ella sits up on her elbows. “You put him up to this?” Ella asks.

“Yeah. How else was I supposed to wake you up?” Erin grins.

“Not like that.” Ella frowns. She rubs her hand over her face. “How long was I asleep?” She asks Erin.

“Well, I came home. I fed Max and had dinner myself. Then we went to my room and I folded my laundry.” Erin shrugs. “That all probably took thirty minutes. I don’t know how long you were asleep before you got here.”

Ella groans. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

Erin bends at the waist so that she’s closer to Ella. “Because you’re so cute when you’re asleep.” She kisses Ella on the forehead. “Plus, I figured you probably needed a nap after your night with the kids last night and the weight room today.”

Ella nods. “I didn’t see you there.”

“The gym? That’s cuz I wasn’t there.”

“Why?”

“Because I was needed elsewhere.” Erin turns and walks to her room.

“Where?” Ella pushes off the couch and runs after Erin. She crashes into her back as Erin stops in the doorway of her bedroom.

Erin sets Max on the floor and turns around to face Ella. “It’s not really any of your business.” Erin smirks.

“But I- but-“ Ella stutters.

“But what?” Erin wants to know what Ella was going to say.

“I want- I- I-“

Erin leans in and stops Ella’s stuttering with a kiss. “Don’t worry about it. Okay?” Erin tells her. Ella nods. “Not that I’m complaining but what are you doing here?” Erin takes Ella by the hand, backing up, and pulling Ella into her room.

Ella bites at her lip and remembers the reason why she came over. Her intention was to un-complicate thing between them. But now that Erin is standing in front of her she doesn’t know if she can do it. She had a whole speech prepared in her head but for whatever reason it’s gone. Maybe it was the unplanned nap, or the way that she was awakened, or the woman standing in front of her right now, but Ella can’t do it.

“I just wanted to see you.” Ella settles for instead.

“Oh.” Erin goes to shut the door. “And your attire?”

Ella looks down. “Oh, yeah.” She was going to put a shirt on once her hair was dry. Ella hates when her wet hair gets the shirt she’s wearing all wet and then it sticks to her body. Ella shrugs. “Are you complaining?”

Erin raises an eyebrow at Ella. She bites her lip and openly looks down at Ella’s chest and stomach. “Nope.” She shakes her head and looks back to Ella’s eyes. “Come on.” She goes over to the bed and pulls the covers back. “You can tell me all about your visit with your nieces.”

Ella smiles. She wouldn’t want anything else.

* * *

 

Ella wakes up the next morning with hair in her mouth. It’s not her hair because her hair is in a braid. It’s Erin’s hair. She spits it out and opens her eyes. She’s laying on her stomach and Erin is laying on her back inches from her. Ella smiles. Erin looks so peaceful. So at ease when she sleeps. Ella hopes that’s the case. She reaches out and runs the back of her index finger over Erin’s cheek.

“Erin.” Ella whispers. She really likes this. Being able to wake up with Erin. It’s one of her new favorite things.

She thinks about the day ahead and how at the end of the day she hopes to be back right here where she is now. It’s game day. Ella is excited because with it being a Sunday her sister and the girls will be able to come to the game.

The thought of her sister reminds her of how she chickened out the night before of the opportunity to un-complicate things. She feels like a failure. But Ella thinks that maybe she can try again soon. She puts that at the back of her mind for now and focuses in on Erin.

Ella scoots closer to Erin, rolling onto her side. “Erin. Wakey. Wakey.” She whispers. Ella puts her hand on her Erin’s shoulder and gives it a little jiggle. “It’s game day.” She says a little louder.

Erin grumbles something unintelligible. Ella smiles. She knows how to wake Erin. She leans in and presses her lips to Erin’s. Ella pulls back and watches as Erin’s eyes flicker open. “Good morning.” Ella grins.

“Morning.” Erin is amazed each time she wakes up in the morning and Ella is in bed beside her.

“Happy game day.” Ella says.

Erin chuckles. “You’re such a dork.”

“I’m excited. I forgot to tell you that my sister is bringing the girls to the game today.” Ella grins. She can’t wait for them to see her play.

“Is that so?” Erin rolls onto her side so that they’re bodies mirror each other.

“Do you want to meet them?” Ella asks. For Erin to meet her sister and her nieces would be something special.

“I don’t know. Do you want me to?” Erin asks. She thinks about this two different ways. She still isn’t sure of her and Ella’s status or what the future holds. She could just be a friend that Ella is introducing to her family members. Or the second option, as more of a ‘meet the parents’ sort of thing.

“Yes.” Ella has an idea in mind but either way she wants Erin to meet the kids and her sister. “I want you to meet them.”

Erin goes in for a kiss. “Okay.”

“I can’t wait.” Ella rolls over onto her back. Her sister wanted to meet the mysterious texter and she’s gonna get that chance today even though she might not know it. Ella knows how she wants the situation to go. Hopefully, all goes as planned.

“We should get up and eat.” Erin rolls onto her stomach, half on top of Ella. Ella nods in agreement. Erin pushes herself up onto her hands and knee, hovering over Ella. “But one more kiss first.” She grins goofy. Ella laughs and Erin lowers her face so her lips can meet Ella’s one more time before the day really begins.

* * *

 

The game ends in a tie.

Ella starts signing autographs for a few fans while the whole time searching the stands for her sister and nieces. They are a few rows up from the front when Ella spots them. She waves up to them and continues with autographs.

She signs for everyone that wants an autograph. The stands clear out and her sister brings the girls down to the front. “Hey guys.” Ella smiles at the two little girls.

“Did you see me playing?” Ella asks.

“Yeah.” Both girls say in unison.

“They were very excited when they saw you on the field.” Seredy tells Ella. “They were jumping up and down yelling ‘auntie Ella, auntie Ella’. The people around us thought it was hilarious.”

Ella smiles up at her sister. She thinks of something and looks around quickly. “Can you guys wait here for a minute?” Ella asks. Her sister nods. “I’ll be right back.”

Ella walks the length of the stands. “Why are you so far away?” Ella complains when she gets to Erin.

“These kind fans wanted an autograph from the star goalkeeper. I’m just giving them what they want.” Erin plays it up.

Ella wants roll her eyes at Erin’s antics but just smiles instead. “Are you almost done?” Ella asks. She looks over her shoulder to see her sister and the girls standing where she left them.

“Am I almost done?” Erin asks the group of people front of her. Two fans wave poster at Erin to sign. “Looks like two more, Ms. Masar.” Erin grins over at Ella. She quickly signs the poster and thanks the fans for coming out.

“Okay. What did you want?” Erin puts her hands on her hips, playfully.

Ella nods over her shoulder. “My sister is here.” She says vaguely.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Erin asks.

“You.” Ella sighs. “Let’s go.” She takes Erin by the elbow and leads her over. “Please, don’t embarrass me.” She whispers to Erin as they approach.

Erin gasps loudly. “I would never.” She grins afterwards.

Ella stops in front of her sister and nieces. “Guys, I wanted to introduce you to my friend, Erin.” She says to all three. “Did you see her on the field?” Ella asks the little girls. The girls look at Erin, thinking about the question. “Her jersey’s a different color than mine.”

“Why?”

Ella grins and looks to Erin to answer the question. Erin leans closer to the girls, like she’s going to tell them a secret. “Because I’m the goalkeeper. And because I’m cooler than your auntie.”

“Hey.” Ella protest. “I’m cool.”

“Who’s cooler? Me or Ella?” Erin asks. “Who’s jersey do you like better?” Erin asks. The girls both point to Erin. Erin rolls her head back and laughs. “I’m cooler than you.” She looks to Ella and says, rubbing it in.

Ella folds her arms over her chest. “Not fair.” She pouts.

“Don’t make that face. It’ll freeze like that forever.” Erin tells Ella. “Trust me you don’t want to look like that the rest of your life.” Erin jokes.

Ella’s sister laughs. Erin looks up at her and sticks out her hand. “Hi, I’m Erin. Ella’s told me a lot about your family. Your girls are super cute.”

“Seredy.” She shakes Erin’s hand. “Thank you. I know they are cute. They use it against me all the time.” She smiles. “You’re the one my mom was telling me about. You and the curly-haired one went with Ella to visit my mom one weekend.” Ella’s sister says.

“Correct. And Carm is the curly-haired one.” Erin supplies. “It was very nice meeting your mother. She’s a very lovely lady. We both like art so we had a pretty good conversation about that. I had a very good time. Your mom is a blast.” Erin says.

Ella stands next to Erin watching her talk and smiling at her.

“She’s a unique woman.” Seredy chuckles. She looks between Erin and Ella. “I should be getting the girls home now. It was nice to meet you Erin.”

“You too. Bye girls.” Erin says and smiles and waves at the girls. She turns to Ella, putting a hand on her arm. “I’ll let you guys finish up.” She tells Ella and then jogs off to the locker room to shower and change.

Ella turns her attention back to her nieces. “Did you girls have fun?” She asks. They both nod. “Cat got your tongues?” She chuckles. Ella knows they are usually shy in public. They’re very young yet.

“They’re probably tired and hungry.” Seredy says. “That’s why I want to get going.”

“I’ll let you go then. Thanks for coming. It means a lot to me.” Ella says. “Bye, girls.” She waves at them.

“Bye.” They say in return.

Ella smiles as she jogs off to the locker room.

* * *

 

“You ready Masar?” Jackie comes up to Ella’s locker after the game. After everyone has shower and changed.

“Yup, where are you taking me for dinner?” Ella grins.

“Who said I was taking you? I’m not paying.” Jackie voices her displeasure over the situation already.

“But I was the pool champ. You have to buy me dinner.” Ella tells her.

“That wasn’t the deal. We didn’t say anything about dinner or anything else for that matter. I didn’t agree to that. You’re just- you’re just trying to swindle things out of me.” Jackie rants.

Ella laughs. “Don’t blow a gasket, Jack.” She slaps Jackie on the shoulder. “Let’s go. I’ll let this one slide. I’ll go dutch with you. Don’t worry. But next time your buying.” Ella laughs.

Jackie rolls her eyes. She follows Ella out to her car and they head off for their dinner date.

While Ella is at dinner with Jackie her phone chimes. She hears it and takes the phone from her bag. She sees a text from her sister and opens it in her lap. Ella doesn’t want to be rude to her dinner partner but she wants to know what the text says.

**I see why things are complicated but remember to follow your heart.** Ella takes in a shocked breath. Her intention was for Erin to meet her sister and the girls, not for her sister to figure it out who Erin was. She doesn’t want to hide things from people but at the same time isn’t ready or willing to tell the truth.

“You alright?” Jackie asks from across the table.

“Yeah.” Ella puts her phone away without texting her sister back. “I’m good. My sister just text me that she and the girls got home safe.”

“That’s good. I saw them after the game. I didn’t get a chance to say hello but I did wave over at them.” Jackie tells Ella.

“You’ll have to come with me next time I go see them.” Ella suggests.

“That would be fun.” Jackie adds.

Ella and Jackie finish their dinner and head home. Ella has a few things on her mind. After changing into her pajamas, she gets out her guitar and starts messing around with some chords and songs while she thinks.

She realizes that she needs advice. She puts the guitar away and curls up in bed. Ella pulls up Carm’s phone number and hits the call button.

“Hello, peasant.” Carm says in a chipper voice.

“Can we not?” Ella doesn’t wan’t to do that right now. She called Carm for a specific reason and she has to get to that reason right away or she won’t be able to talk about it.

Carm hears the distress in Ella’s voice. “What’s wrong, buddy?”

“I need your help?” Ella says desperately.

“Are you in trouble?” Carm asks. She’s really starting to get concerned about this situation.

“No.” Ella pauses. “Well, not really.”

“What did you do, Ella?” Carm gets down to it.

“It’s what I didn’t do. Or can’t do.” Ella sighs, frustrated.

“Let’s stop talking in code. What’s this all about?” Carm asks with a smile.

“Erin.”

“Ahhh. I should have known.” Carm chuckles.

“Carm.” Ella whines. “I’m being serious.”

Carm is the person Ella went to for advice a few months back when she realized she had a crush on Erin and that it wouldn’t go away. Carm helped talk Ella through a few things. Ella was able to turn to Carm with any questions she had. Erin related or not.

“I know you are. What can I help you with?” Carm asks.

“I’m not sure.” Ella mumbles. “I need advice. But I don’t know where to start.”

Carm talks Ella through her fears, issues, and insecurities.

Ella ends the phone call with a new confidence. New faith and a sense that anything is possible. She just needed to be reminded of what’s important. Of what life is and should be about. Of the beauty of happiness and love.

* * *

 

Ella sleeps in. It’s recovery day so she isn’t supposed to go for a run or anything. A take it easy sort of day. They have team bonding scheduled for dinner. Movie night over at the Canadians apartment.

Ella reads for a few hours before getting bored of that. She grabs a granola bar and heads across the hall. Max greets her happily at the door. “Hey, there’s my boy.” Ella bends over and picks him up. “What are you up to today?” She asks the pup. He pants happy for the attention. “You wanna hang out with me?”

“Are you talking to the dog?” Dri asks from the couch.

“Holy crap!” Ella startles and looks over the back of the couch to see Dri laying on it. “I didn’t see you there.”

“I’m just relaxing.”

“Oh.” Ella nods. Max starts licking her face. “Okay. Okay. Enough.” She’s not too fond of dog slobber on her face. “Max. Stop.” Ella giggles.

“You never answered my question. Were you talking to Max like he was going to respond?” Dri looks up at Ella.

She shrugs. “Maybe.” Ella looks away. Looks at Erin’s closed bedroom door.

Dri follows Ella’s eyes. “She busy painting or something. Some art project.” Dri fills in. Ella nods. “What’s up with you two?” Dri asks.

Ella’s eyes snap back to Dri. “What?” She squeaks. “Nothing. What do you mean?”

Dri laughs. “You’re a terrible liar. It’s whatever. I don’t mind. I was just curious. I mean you’re over here a lot. Oh, nevermind. Don’t listen to me. You do your thing, Ella. Whatever that might be.” Dri doesn’t think she’ll ever completely understand Ella or her ways.

Ella nods and walks away from Dri, not wanting to discuss it. She goes over to Erin’s room with Max in her arms. She knocks and hears Erin telling her to come in. Ella pushes the door open, enters the room, sets Max down on the bed, and sits next to him.

Erin looks over her shoulder at Ella. “You look like you just saw a ghost.” She chuckles and continues painting.

“Dri knows.” Ella mumbles.

“Knows what.” Erin asks.

“About us. About why- I’m always over here.” Ella stutters out.

“Really?” Erin doesn’t really believe Ella. Dri didn’t say anything to her. She thinks Ella’s just making this up. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Ella points to the door. “She just asked me about it.”

Erin puts her paintbrush down and turns to Ella. She puts a hand on her shoulder. “I think you’re over thinking this. She didn’t say anything specific, did she?” Ella thinks about what Dri said exactly and shakes her head. “Okay. Take a couple deep breathes. You’re fine. We’re fine. I can talk to her if you want. I’ll tell her we just hang out a lot. It’s fine.”

Ella nods and takes a couple deep breathes. Erin is right. She shouldn’t worry about it. She’s probably overreacting. Plus, what evidence does Dri have? Just because Ella is over at their apartment often doesn’t mean anything.

“I want to finish this but you’re welcome to stay. Or if you don’t, that’s fine too.” Erin tells Ella.

Ella nods. She looks over at Max. he’s sitting patiently on the bed next to her. “Can I take Max to the park?”

“Sure.” Erin smiles down at Ella. “Let me just put his harness on.” Erin goes to get Max’s harness from the corner and Ella picks him up. She stands up and wait for Erin. Ella holds out Max while Erin puts the harness on him. “Good teamwork.” Erin winks at Ella when they finish.

Ella sets Max on the floor. “His leash is by the front door.” Erin says. “Have fun at the park. Try to relax and don’t overthink things. You’re fine.” Erin tells her.

“Okay. Thanks.” Ella says and leaves the room. She’s still all flustered. Ella hooks up Max to his leash and says goodbye to Dri and they are out the door.

Ella walks with Max down to the park. They find some live music and stop at a bench to sit and listen. Max hops up and sits on Ella’s lap. The sun is out. It’s a beautiful day and Ella tries to enjoy it. She sits back and relaxes. The music is soothing and the atmosphere calming. She takes a picture of her and Max sitting on the bench with her phone and sends it to Erin. **Enjoying music in the park.**

A few seconds later she gets a text back from Erin. It’s simple. **Cute.**

Ella smiles and feels a lot better than she did when she left the apartment. She walks with Max around the park after listen to the music for a good half hour. They stop at an ice cream cart and Ella gets an ice cream cone and they walk around some more while she eats her ice cream. Ella stops them by a group of trees. She picks up a small stick that’s on the ground. “You wanna play fetch?” Ella asks Max, wigging the stick in the air.

Max jumps to try and reach the stick. “Okay.” Ella chuckles. She unhooks his leash. “Ready?” She throws the stick and Max runs after it, collects it, and brings it back to Ella. “Good boy.”

They play fetch in the park for a while before heading back to the apartment so Ella can get ready for team bonding night.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This shit is heavy and was exhausting to write. I just hope I did it justice.

It’s a rare thing to get two days off in a row. But, technically, yesterday wasn’t a day off. If anyone needed treatment, they had that in the morning and in the evening was team bonding. But it was like a day off. But today is an actual day off.

Ella starts the day with an early morning run. The night before was fun, with all the girls coming over to Erin and Dri’s apartment. They had dinner and watched two movies. Which was really talking over two movies. Ella left when everyone else did. She went to bed right away and got a good night’s sleep and was up early and ready for a run.

After her run, Ella hits up the gym and gets in a weight session. She sends out a text to her teammates asking if anyone wants to join her at the gym. It’s been difficult finding a lifting buddy since Carm left. No one’s in the weight room as much as Ella.

When she’s almost done with her session the door opens and Dri and Erin walk in. “What do we have here?” Ella jokes.

“We got your text.” Dri says.

“I sent that out like an hour ago.”

“It took a while to get here.” Erin says.

Ella smirks. “Whatever, I’m almost done now. But, I’m not doing anything today. I can stick around and spot if you need it.” Ella tells them.

Dri looks around the gym. It’s empty. “Who spotted you?” She asks.

“No one.” Ella shrugs.

“Isn’t that kinda dangerous?” Dri questions.

Erin leans into Dri’s shoulder. “Ella’s a freaking gym rat. She knows what she’s doing.”

“But still.” Dri shrugs.

Ella narrows her eyes at Erin. “What? I’m just speaking the truth.” Erin throws her hands in the air.

“And thank you for that.” Ella say sarcastically. Yeah, she works hard in the gym but she doesn’t really like being labeled a gym rat.

“You gonna stick around?” Erin asks, leaving Dri’s side and approaching Ella.

“Do you need me to?” She asks. “There are two of you so-“

Erin doesn’t need Ella to, but she wants Ella to. Those are two different things though. And after Ella’s tiny freak out yesterday about Dri saying something, Erin doesn’t really know if it’s the best idea. She could actually talk to Dri about it while they are at the gym today. “No. You can go for a run or something.”

“I already did that.” Ella shrugs.

“What? It’s not even ten am yet?” Dri squeaks. “It’s our day off, Ella.”

Erin laughs. She knows that’s typical Ella.

“I know.” Ella shrugs. “I ran four miles this morning. Then I came to the gym.” Ella starts packing up her stuff.

“Damn girl.” Dri chuckles and shakes her head.

“You guys gonna be home later?” Ella asks just before she leaves.

“No.” Dri says.

“Yes.” Erin tells her.

“Okay. I’m leaving now.” Ella says and steps out the door.

“That girl is crazy.” Dri says to Erin and starts her lifting session.

Erin just shakes her head. She’s just wondering why Ella asked if they would be home later.

* * *

 

Ella returns to her apartment with a plan in mind. She’s gonna do something today that’s gonna change everything. Well, that’s what she thinks. She plans on telling Erin some things. But, Ella’s need to prepare first though.

She takes a shower and has lunch with Lori before going to her room. Ella gets out her bible, guitar, and a notebook and sets to work on what she wants to accomplish in the next couple of hours. She gets her keys and walks up the stairs to the door for the roof. She pushes the door open and is greeted with bright sunshine. She smiles. Ella needs to be alone for a few hours where no one will find her. The roof is the perfect place for that. Sometimes she or her teammates come up here but today it’s just her. It’s hot and breezy. It’s the perfect place for Ella to get her head where she needs and wants it to be. Letting go of any stress. Writing down any important thoughts. Praying about what to do. Focusing on what she wants to tell Erin.

* * *

 

Ella doesn’t come out of her room until dinner time. It appears that she’s the only one in the apartment. She makes a quick sandwich and has eat it along with a banana.

After, Ella goes back to her room and changes into sweatpants and a tank top, putting her plan into action. She doesn’t really plan on coming back to her apartment after she goes across the hall. Ella sits down on the bed and takes a few deep breaths, psyching herself up, readying herself.

She leaves her room, crosses the hall, and checks the door. It’s unlocked. She knows Dri isn’t home so that makes this that much easier. Erin is sitting at the counter on her laptop when Ella enters. Erin turns around to see Ella coming towards her. “Hey.” She says.

“Hi.” Ella looks around anxiously. She doesn’t want to do this out in the open. “Can we go in your room?”

“Sure.” Erin doesn’t think anything of it. “Let me just shut this down.” She says in reference to the laptop.

“Okay.” Ella doesn’t wait for Erin. She meanders into Erin’s room and sits down on the chair that Erin has in the corner of the room by her art supplies. She wrings her hands together nervously. If she doesn’t do this now she might never do it.

Erin enters the room shortly after and is oblivious to Ella’s nervous behavior. She goes over to the closet and starts rummaging through her clothes. She looking for a specific shirt but doesn’t see it. “What do you want to do tonight?” Erin asks with her back to Ella.

Ella clears her throat. “Can we talk?” Her voice is shaky.

Erin turns around immediately. Worst case scenarios are running through her head. It’s never good when someone asks ‘to talk’. “Ella?” Erin asks, now nervous herself.

“Sit down Erin.” Ella points over to the bed.

Erin nods and moves unsteadily over to the bed, sitting on it, and searching Ella’s face for any indication of what’s about to happen. She can’t get a good read on Ella and Ella won’t look directly at her.

Ella has a starting point and a middle point she just doesn’t know how this is going to end. She is going to try to explain everything to Erin. She takes a deep breath. “I used to go to church every Sunday. I don’t always get the chance to go every week during the season but I would go if I wasn’t committed to something. My religion and my faith are important to me. But I feel like a bad person. I feel guilty. It’s wrong. I haven’t gone to church since sometime in May.” Ella looks over at Erin and with that one look, the tears start falling. She didn’t want to cry but now that she’s started Ella doesn’t think she can stop. She wipes at her eyes uselessly.

Erin frowns. She thinks this is it. This is the worst case scenario. That everything that they’ve been doing is coming to a close right here, right now. Erin stays frozen to her spot waiting for Ella to continue.

Ella sniffles, trying to stop crying. “I know we’ve talked about it a little. Where I’ve played in my career. The last couple of years have been difficult for me. I want to say my problems all started when I was at MagicJack but I’m not really sure anymore. Without getting to in-depth, everyone knows that was a shit show. I wanted to quit. I thought that was gonna be the end of my career. But I got through it and the opportunity to go play at PSG arose and I jumped at it. I thought it was a good thing. Things were turning around. I would be playing again and having fun and doing what I love. It was great.” Ella leans forward in the chair, putting her elbow on her thighs and sort of crouching over.

“It was great. But that feeling was short lived. My- my dad died. It was another blow. I didn’t know what to do. I had so many questions. I wondered why these bad things were happening to me. In less than a year my career nearly ended, the long-term relationship I was in ended, and my dad was gone. At first, I think, I was mostly just sad but that turned into anger as the months passed. There were good days. There were plenty of good days but there were probably just as many bad days. Nothing in my life made since anymore.”

Erin thought she knew where this conversation was going but now she’s not so sure. She feels bad now. For her own thoughts and for Ella and her hardships in her life.

Ella wipes the snot from under her nose. She lets the tears falls as they come. She probably looks like a hot mess but she doesn’t really care. She has to get through this. She has to tell Erin.

“Coming back to Chicago was good for me. I didn’t know what was going to happen. The NWSL started up and that was good. I met Carm, even before there were whispers of the NWSL, and we hit it off right away and that was good. All these good things that have happened since I’ve been back in Chicago. Being able to see my nieces and my family with regularity is great. Meeting you was a good thing.” Ella cracks a little sad smile and looks over at Erin.

Erin is barely holding it together.

Ella takes a deep breath before continuing. She looks down at the floor. This is the scariest thing she’s ever done. “But then Carm left and that feeling of losing someone I cared about resurfaced. And that sadness and anger were back. But it didn’t last long- cuz I had you and the girls on the team. Carm made me smile and laugh and just have fun. You do the same thing but it’s different with you.”

Ella starts to lay it all out there. Her feelings and emotions. “I’m afraid. There’s this constant conflict between my head and my heart. My head is telling me one thing but my heart is telling me another. Every day there is a war between my head and my heart. That conflict is always there but it’s lessening with every passing day. As the days go by, things become a little bit clearer than the day before. The battle less severe.”

Ella looks over at Erin. “You remember when I went to my sister’s to see my nieces?” She smiles at the memory.

“Yeah.” Erin says with a scratchy voice.

“And how we were texting and my sister came home?” Ella smiles over at Erin.

Erin smiles too. “Yeah.”

“Well, she saw me texting you. Or probably more me reading the last text you sent that night.” Ella bites her bottom lip.

“Goodnight, beautiful.” Erin mumbles the words from the text. “What about it?” Erin wonders.

“She asked about the sender, you. She asked if it was someone special. I asked why she would think that and she said it was just the look on my face. She said I looked happy. Like, truly happy. She also said that I should follow my heart. I was talking to Carm the other day and she said the same thing.”

“Oh.” Erin’s not sure she how she feels about Ella talking to Carm about them, but also knows that Carm has helped in the past.

Ella sits back in the chair, sits upright. “Those dark, sad, angry days are over. They have been for a while but I didn’t realize it until now. Everything in my life was turned upside down but now things are better and I’m looking forward for what’s to come and not wallowing in the past anymore.”

She sighs. “My sister and Carm were right. I deserve to be happy and I’m gonna follow my heart.”

Ella plays with the easel that is standing next the chair. Running her finger back and forth and watches them move. “I really like you, Erin. You’re a good person, who stays out of trouble and drama. You don’t judge anyone on their past. You don’t judge _me_ on my past. I’ve done some bad things but you have never judge me for those things. You’re caring and kind. Honest. You’re a giant goofball. And you’re so talented. Not just with soccer. With so many things. Art, writing, singing and more.”

Ella is more composed now. She locks eyes with Erin. “My heart wants you.”

It’s more than Erin was expecting. So much more. She’s a bit speechless. Erin wipes at her eyes. Tears started to fall some time ago. She doesn’t know what to do. Erin takes a shaky breath and gets up off the bed. She goes over and drops to her knees in front of Ella. “What are you saying?” Erin hopes she’s got this right and she thinks Ella is saying what she is.

Ella hangs her head. “I’m not good with words.” She huffs out frustrated.

“You’re doing fine.” Erin tells her. She just wants to know the meaning behind everything Ella is telling her.

Ella heaves a deep breath. “You’re the reason.” She looks into Erin’s eyes.

“This is gonna sound weird and cryptic.” Erin gives Ella a curious tilt of the head. “I’ve been thinking the last few days and I mean really thinking.” She pauses for a moment before sighing. “When my dad died I wanted to know why. I wanted to know why he was taken from me, from my family. I wanted to know why everything bad was happening to me. I kept asking why. For months and months. It was very selfish of me but I was stuck in that world. I was throwing myself a pity party. Nothing made sense and I kept asking why.”

Erin puts her hands on Ella’s knees, squeezing them. “I’m not following.” They already talked about this.

Ella smiles, despite the few tears that still fall from her eyes. “I’m getting there. I told you I wasn’t good with words. But I want to make sure I get this right.”

Erin nods. “Okay. Go on.”

Ella nods too. “So nothing made sense. There were good days and bad and I had a great time in France but nothing made sense anymore. I didn’t know if I wanted to play soccer anymore. I decided I needed to come home. I needed to be with my family and actually deal with my dad’s death. There was no pro league in the states at the time but I came back to Chicago anyway. Then the NWSL got started and I signed with Chicago.” Ella stops to check for Erin’s reaction. “This doesn’t make sense to you, does it?”

Erin shrugs. “Not really.”

“You’re the reason.” Ella says firmly. She reaches for Erin’s hands and holds onto them. “Erin, I had a two-year contract with PSG. My dad died and I left after the first year to come back to Chicago. The NWSL started. You were allocated here. I signed here. If my dad didn’t die I wouldn’t have come back after that first year in France. I would have stayed. I wouldn’t be playing on this team right now. We wouldn’t have known each other.”

Erin understands now. Except, she is speechless. What does one say to all that?

“Everything happens for a reason. Everything in my life happened for a reason.” Ella says. “It all finally makes sense again. I’m not asking why anymore. I know the reason now. I know the answer. You’re that reason.”

“That’s heavy.”

Ella chuckles. “I said it was gonna be weird and cryptic.”

“So, now what?” Erin asks. She’s so baffled that she doesn’t know what’s what right now.

“You wanted to know what we were doing. And for a long time I didn’t have an answer. I still might not, but I know what I want and what my heart wants. I need to be happy Erin. I need to live again. I need to finally gets past all this crap. And you make me happy. You make me feel safe. You make me laugh and smile every single day. I need that. I need you. It’s not gonna be easy cuz I still have all these things in my head. But I’m open to whatever happens.”

“Go on a date with me?” Erin blurts out.

Ella’s eyes get really big.

“Nobody has to know it’s a date. Only me and you. It’ll be simple. Dinner and a show or something. I don’t know yet. Ella, will you go out on a date with me?” Erin asks, almost sounding desperate.

Ella thinks it over for a second. “Okay.”

Erin kicks her toes against the floor with excitement. “Can I kiss you now?” Ella nods and Erin crashes their lips together. Ella puts her palms on each of Erin’s cheeks, savoring the kiss. It’s messy, sloppy, with tears mixed in and filled with so much emotion.

Ella leans her forehead against Erin’s. Erin wipes away Ella’s remaining tears with her thumbs. “I don’t really know what to say right now. But I’m so proud of you. You’re so brave. For finally telling me what you were thinking. For opening up to me. Thank you.” She kisses Ella again.

Ella sighs, relieved. “You’re welcome.”

Erin laughs. “You don’t have to say that. I was just- nevermind.” She presses her lips to Ella’s. “Come here.” Erin stands, pulling Ella up and out of the chair and into an embrace. She holds Ella tight. “You- you are amazing. I can’t even believe this. I don’t know what to say. This is- wow.”

Ella chuckles. “Erin?”

Erin leans back so she can see Ella’s face. “Yeah.”

“You’re squishing me.” Ella smiles.

Erin rolls her eyes but loosens her grip a little. “I just want to hold you and protect you and keep you safe and happy after what you just told me. You’ve been through so much. I mean I knew a little bit about it but not all that.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever told anybody that much.” Ella admits. Now that she’s opened herself up, the admissions just keep tumbling out. “It’s very emotional.”

“That it is.” Erin lets go of Ella, but not completely. She takes her hand and leads Ella over to the bed. “What do you want to do now? I need to take Max for a walk. You could come with or you could stay here. I don’t mind either way. Whatever you’re comfortable with. I could stop and get some snacks or ice cream if you want while I’m out.”

“Erin. You’re so sweet. I don’t need snacks. Go walk Max. I’ll be here when you get back. I just want to cuddle with you and have some time to relax and unwind.” Ella kisses Erin on the cheek. “So sweet.”

“Okay. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Erin squeezes Ella’s hand.

“Take your time. I’ll be here. I’m not gonna leave.” Ella says, promises.

“Okay.” Erin kisses Ella again, slowly, gently. She lets go and walks towards the door. She looks over her shoulder at Ella, smiles, and pulls the door open.

Ella smiles back as Erin steps out into the hall, closing the door behind her. “Erin.” Ella calls out the second before the door closes completely.

Erin stops, turns, and sticks her head back in the door, raising an eyebrow at Ella. “Yes?”

“Get some ice cream.” Ella bites her lip.

Erin laughs. “What kind?”

“Mint chocolate chip.” Ella grins.

“Alright. Consider it done. I’ll be right back.” Erin winks and closes the door.

Ella sighs. She falls backwards onto the bed. Ella takes a deep breath in, holds it, and then lets it go. She just un-complicated things and feels like a weight has been lifted off of her shoulders. Erin knows what she’s been thinking. She knows the truth and Ella feels lighter because of it. She’s not sure exactly what’s going to happen moving forward but knows that whatever it is they will work through it together. Ella feels like anything is possible now that Erin knows where she’s coming from. It’s not always going to be easy but Ella knows it will always be worth it.

* * *

 

Erin comes back with Max and a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream and a spoon. She sets Max down on the end of the bed. He goes over to Ella and stands in her lap waiting for some attention.

“How was your walk?” She asks and scratches behind Max’s ears.

“Good.” Erin replies.

“I wasn’t talking to you.” Ella looks up and over at Erin.

Erin rolls her eyes. “Don’t be a brat.” Ella just smiles and continues petting Max. Erin sets the ice cream and spoon on the nightstand. She then changes her shorts before sitting on the bed, her legs folded underneath herself, facing Ella and Max. Erin sits there and just watches. She watches as Max has all of Ella’s attention for the moment. She watches as both smile happily at each other.

“Do you want your ice cream?” Erin asks after a little bit.

Ella turns away from Max. “Sure.” She nods.

“Okay.” Erin turns and grabs the spoon and ice cream and holds them out for Ella.

“Thank you for getting this for me.” Ella smiles shyly.

“Anything for you.” Erin bites her lip. She had a little time to think during her walk. What Ella said, what Ella told her, was so powerful. Like nothing anyone’s ever told her. A little scary and so very sad but also beautiful. For Ella to be able to say all of that and to open up like that, to be vulnerable, was a beautiful thing to witness.

Ella ducks her head shyly, opening the ice cream. “Don’t say that. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” Ella backtracks. All of a sudden she feels like maybe she shouldn’t have told Erin all that she did. It opens up a whole new territory. Ella feels raw and emotionally drained. She, also, doesn’t want Erin to feel like she owes her something.

Erin sighs. She not sure what she’s supposed to do. She’s scared. Erin takes Max from Ella’s lap while she is busy with the ice cream. She holds him and pets him, a comfort for her. She’s scared because of Ella’s words. Yes, they were beautiful, but devastatingly so. They were powerful too. For Ella to say that Erin was the reason is what scares Erin the most. That’s a lot of pressure. To be someone’s reason. She doesn’t know if she buys into Ella’s explanation completely. It makes sense, sure, but for everything to happen to Ella for her to just meet Erin seems like the craziest thing right now.

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath and holds it.

“Are you alright?” Ella asks.

“Yeah.” Erin lets out her breath. “I’m gonna lie down.” She lets go of Max and he goes to sit at Ella’s side, wanting some ice cream.

“Okay.” Ella eats her ice cream slowly. “Do you want some?” She asks, holding a spoonful towards Erin.

“No thanks.” Erin repositions herself under the blankets, laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She has so many emotions right now. It’s all hitting Erin all of a sudden. The magnitude of everything that has happened in her room tonight.

“Okay.” Ella shrugs. “More for me.”

“Don’t eat the whole thing. You’ll get sick.” Erin tells her in monotone.

Ella looks over. “Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t look okay.” Ella puts the cover on the ice cream and sets it on the floor. Max looks over the edge of the bed where Ella just put the ice cream. He watches it for a second before going to the end of the bed, curling up there, and taking a nap.

Ella climbs under the covers with Erin. “What’s up?” Ella lays on her side, her hand on Erin’s shoulder.

Erin doesn’t want to bring up everything again right now. It’s too heavy right now. “Come here.” Erin opens her arms. “Let me hold you.” Ella scoots over to Erin’s side. She rests her head on Erin’s shoulder. Erin wraps her arms tight around Ella. “I have so many thoughts running through my head right now. I don’t even know where to begin. Everything you told me-“ Erin kisses the top of Ella’s head. “You were right though. You deserve to be happy. No matter how that happens.”

“Thank you.” Ella mumbles.

“I don’t know a whole lot about your past, except for what you’ve told me. But, I know this you. Here and now. And I like this you.” Erin says with a gentle smile.

“You wouldn’t have liked past me.” Ella tries to hide her face from Erin, but there isn’t really anywhere to go with Erin holding onto her securely.

“Maybe not, but people grow. People change. And I can see that you have. You feel bad, sorry, you regret your past transgressions. That’s change right there. I know there’s so much more to it than that, but I don’t want to get too deep tonight.” Erin rubs her hand up and down Ella’s arm.

“But what you did today was huge. A big step forward. It was beautiful. I learned a lot. I want to thank you. Ella, you have a big heart and you are so passionate about everything you do. Soccer, your family, your relationships, your views and beliefs. It’s wonderful that I get to see that. You’re so beautiful inside and out.

“Erin. Stop.” Ella whines, her cheeks turning pink.

“No. I’m being serious right now. I feel like I’ve been giving a gift tonight. So thank you.” Erin puts her finger under Ella chin and tilts her head up. She cranes her neck and goes in for a kiss. All of Erin’s emotions pouring through into the kiss.

Erin looks down at the girl in her arms. “Will you stay here tonight?” She asks, rubbing her thumb across Ella’s cheek.

Ella nods, looking up at Erin with her big eyes. This is what Ella was hoping for before she came over to Erin’s apartment. It didn’t go exactly according to her plan but close. Ella doesn’t want to be anywhere else right now. She feels safe and comfortable in Erin’s bed, in Erin’s arms. It’s a feeling she needs. It’s where she’s happy.

“Are you tired?” Erin asks.

“Yeah.” Ella is actually very tired. Her big speech took a lot out of her.

“Let’s get some sleep then. It’s back to the grind tomorrow.” Erin says, kissing Ella’s forehead again.

“Yeah.” Ella agrees.

“Goodnight, beautiful.” Erin says with soft smile.

“Goodnight, Erin.” Ella smiles.


	9. Chapter 9

Ella wakes up the next morning feeling a little groggy. She slept well but the events of the night before seem to have affected her. She rubs at her eyes and stretches a little. Her stretch disturbs Max. He was sleeping at the end of the bed by Ella’s feet. He gets up, surveys the area, and lies back down in almost the same spot. Ella’s never seen Max sleep on the bed before. She wonders if that’s okay or if she should remove him from the bed.

She decides he’s not hurting anything.

Ella turns onto her side, into Erin’s body. She lays her arm across Erin’s waist and rubs her nose against Erin’s neck, taking in her natural scent. Ella starts pressing kisses to the skin of Erin’s neck until she wakes up.

Erin hums as she wakes up. The feeling of gentle lips on her neck is nice but also makes her squirm a little. “This is the best way to wake up.” She wraps her arm around Ella, rubbing at her back.

Ella removes her lips and giggles a little. She leans the slightest bit so she can see Erin’s face. She totally agrees with Erin on the waking up thing. If she could wake up like this every day, life would be great. Cozy, happy, comfortable, at ease. Ella wishes she didn’t have to do life and that she could just stay in bed with Erin all day. Their coaches probably wouldn’t like that though.

“I wish we could stay here, like this.” Ella sighs.

Erin looks over at Ella for the first time today. It amazes her how beautiful Ella always look, even waking up first thing in the morning with messy hair. “We have practice in a couple hours.” Erin reminds her.

“I know. Life calls.” Ella kisses Erin’s cheek. “We should get up.”

“We should.” Erin reaches over and wrap her hand around the back of Ella’s head, cradling it, and pulling her closer so Erin can kiss her properly. She releases the kiss with a pop. “Okay, now we can start the day.”

Ella bites her lip, shy. She rolls away from Erin and sits up on the edge of the bed. “Shit.”

“What?” Erin asks.

Ella starts laughing, looking down at the floor.

“What?” Erin moves over to see what Ella is laughing at. “Oooh nooo.” Erin collapses on the bed.

“I’ll clean it up.” Ella pats Erin on the back. The ice cream that Ella was eating the night before, that she set on the floor, has melted and has started leaking out of the container onto the floor.

Ella gets up and leaves the ice cream where it is for a moment so she doesn’t make more of a mess. She decides on getting a bowl to set the leaky container in. Ella gets up and goes to the door. Erin gets up and out of bed and so does Max. “Hey, buddy. Sleep well- on the bed.” Erin frowns down at him. He ducks her head.

“Is he not supposed to sleep on the bed?” Ella asks.

“I don’t want him sleeping on the bed. I don’t want to make a habit out of it.” Erin tells Ella. Ella nods and opens the door. Max is the first one out of the room.

In the kitchen, Dri is sitting at the counter. She looks up when Max, and Erin, and Ella round the corner. She raises an eyebrow at seeing the last of them. “Another sleepover?” She asks.

Ella blushes and looks away. “Yeah.” She confirms quietly. She feels guilty about it for some reason.

“Okay.” Dri smirks. “But, how long are we gonna keep calling it that?” She dares to ask. She’s not dumb, she sees what’s happening. Or she thinks she sees what’s happening.

“Uh-“ Ella looks at Erin awkwardly. Erin just shrugs. She doesn’t know what to say. What Ella would be okay with her saying. “-I’m just- uh- gonna head home.” Ella points awkwardly at the door and takes off for it.

Erin watches her go and sighs, frustrated, when the door shuts behind Ella. “Thanks.” She grumbles and rolls her eyes. Now she’s going to have to clean up the melted ice cream herself.

“I didn’t mean to- to do whatever I did. I, just, as your roommate would like some answers.” Dri says to Erin.

“Yeah.” Erin totally gets that. She sits down next to Dri. “I know you know about me. Cuz of the national team and Mel and stuff but Ella she- she-“ Erin struggles with what to say. She doesn’t want to speak for Ella. Heck, she doesn’t even know if Ella wants anyone to know or not. Either way, Erin feels like it’s not her place to tell anyone about whatever it is they have going on.

“She wants to keep it a secret?” Dri asks.

“No- yes- well- I don’t know. She’s struggling. She doesn’t know what’s happening, really. She’s trying to figure it out. She conflicted, confused. I don’t know.” Erin rambles aimlessly. She understands what Ella’s going through, trying to figure it all out, but she doesn’t know how to explain it.

“And that’s okay with you?” Dri asks. She feels like Erin is selling herself short. Like she could at least find someone who knows who they are or what they want.

Erin shrugs. “Yeah.” She can’t really explain it, but she feels like Ella is someone special and if she just gives it time, if she just waits, she will be rewarded. “Just, can you not bring up like sexuality or what’s going on between us or whatever when she’s around.” Erin asks of her teammate.

“Sure.” Dri gets up and brings her bowl to the sink. “I’m going to shower.” She doesn’t really understand the situation but will do as she’s asked.

“Thanks, Dri. I really appreciate it.” Erin says as Dri goes.

Dri stops at the corner of the hall and looks back at Erin. “Sure thing. No problem.” She sees Erin sitting there with her head hung low. She knows Erin would never admit it but she knows in some way Erin is struggling too.

* * *

 

They have practice and after practice Ella camps out in her room all afternoon. Yesterday was a very emotional day for her and it has lingered into today. Just that heavy feeling that she has and she works all afternoon trying to get rid of it. She reads, plays guitar, and listens to music to put her into a better mood. She even takes a little nap.

* * *

 

Ella leaves her room and walks through the kitchen to the door, oblivious to her surroundings. She doesn’t see Taryn sitting in a chair in the living room. “Where are you headed?” Taryn’s words make Ella jump.

Ella spins around to see Taryn sitting there, a book in her lap. She panics a little. Why are so many people questioning her whereabouts lately? First Dri, now Taryn. “Oh- uh- just across the hall.” She avoids using Erin’s name.

“I’m starting to think you spend more time over there than you do here.” Taryn chuckles.

Ella shakes her head. “That’s not true.” She knows it’s not true. Yes, she might spend a lot of time across the hall but it not more than she spends in her own apartment.

“Okay. Have fun.” Taryn tells her with a flick of her hand.

“Yeah.” Ella doesn’t know about fun but she will have a good time. She always has a good time when she’s around Erin. It’s easy to have a good time even if they aren’t doing anything specific. She naturally wants to spend time across the hall. It’s a need at this point.

She turns around and goes to the door and out into the hallway. Ella opens the door to the Canadian’s apartment and enters. There is no one out in the commons area so Ella goes directly to Erin’s room.

Ella spots Max on the end of the bed. “Hey, buddy.” She starts petting Max where he sits at Erin’s feet. Her eyes glance over to Erin before returning to Max. “I don’t think anyone likes us. I mean what’s not to like, right.” Ella pouts.

“Hello, Ella. How are you? What are you up to?” Erin watches as Ella pets Max. “Do you know how to start a conversation?” She asks with a quirked eyebrow.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. We have a serious problem.” Ella literally waves Erin off before going back to petting Max.

“And what would that be?” Erin asks, putting her sketch book on the nightstand and giving Ella her full attention.

“We have to film another episode tomorrow and I asked a bunch of girls and none of them want to do it. Or they said they were busy. Is our show that bad that nobody wants to do it. Is it me? I mean everyone loves you, so that’s not it. Are my questions too far out there? Should I ask more standard questions? I don’t get it. Why does nobody want to be on our show?” Ella rambles.

Erin wants to laugh at how cute Ella is right now but doesn’t think that would go over too well. “Would you like to talk about it? We can maybe come up with something together.” Erin pats the spot on the bed next to her.

Ella smiles and walks around the bed to go sit next to Erin. Their backs against the headboard, legs out in front of them. “Any suggestions?”

“First, thank you for telling me in advance this time. Second, Max has to go to the dentist on Friday. When are we doing this?”

“Friday.” Ella shrugs.

“When, on Friday?” Erin needs a schedule because Max has to go to the dentist, they have a light morning practice, and Erin has planned their date for Friday night.

“What time will Max be done at the dentist?” Ella asks.

Erin shrugs. “I’m dropping him off before practice and picking him up afterwards.”

“Has he been to the dentist before? What do they do there? Is it like the human dentist? Is he having his teeth pulled?” Ella asks. Max sits at the end of the bed and Ella can’t take her eyes of the dog as she wonders about the doggy dentist.

Erin watches Ella watch Max. “So many questions?” Erin chuckles. “No, he’s not have any teeth pulled. How would he eat? It’s just a cleaning. Do you want to come with when I pick him up?” Erin reaches for Ella’s hand and takes it in her own. She rubs her thumb back and forth over the back of Ella’s hand.

“Can I?” Ella looks over at Erin, biting her lip.

Erin nods. “Now back to what we were talking about. No one wants to be on our next show?” Ella shakes her head. “Who else can we ask? Coaches, someone from the organizations?”

Ella hums and thinks for a minute. “I have an idea. You know who is at all of our tapings and who would do it, no questions asked?”

“Who?” Erin asks.

“Alyse.” Ella smiles at her own brilliant idea. “But I have an idea.” Her smile turns into a devilish smirk. “We should surprise her.”

“And how are we gonna do that. Doesn’t she know we’re taping an episode.” Erin questions.

“Yes, but we can like surprise her in her office or something, like early.” Ella’s just throwing ideas out.

“That might work.” Erin thinks it over. “But how are we gonna do that. With the cameras and stuff?”

“I think I have an idea.” Ella smirks.

Erin waits but Ella doesn’t fill her in on the idea. “Are you gonna tell me what that is?”

Ella leans to the side and presses a kiss to Erin’s cheek. “Nope. You’ll have to wait to find out. Just dress as Alyse and I’ll take care of the rest.”

“What? Why?” Erin whines.

Ella giggles. “Because.” She has a good idea of what to do for the episode.

“Fine.” Erin huffs and pouts.

Ella watches Erin’s face. “Don’t do that.” Erin just pouts harder. “Erin.” Ella is not going to give in. She’s decided that Erin will have to wait to see what she has planned until tomorrow. She knows how to get rid of that pout without revealing her plan for the show. Ella plants her right hand into the mattress and stretch over to meet Erin’s lips with hers. One little kiss and that pout turns into a smile. Ella leans back into her spot and licks her lips.

Erin grins. “Please, may I have another?” She says in a goofy voice.

Ella laughs. “Sure.” She rolls her eyes. This time they meet halfway and gets lost in each other. Ella cups Erin’s face and deepens the kiss.

* * *

 

Ella lies on her back with Erin on her side next to her. “Can we discuss our date?” Erin asks. She runs her fingers through Ella’s hair. They agreed that Friday would be there date night.

“Sure. Like what?” Ella look over at Erin.

“Well, I have it all planned out. We are gonna go to dinner. Our reservation is at six. You should wear something nice.” Erin says.

She watches Erin’s face, her eyes, her lips, her smile as she talks. “What are you wearing?” Ella asks.

Erin shrugs. “I’m not sure yet.”

“Okay. What else are we doing?” Ella asks.

“How do you know that’s not it?” Erin teases. Ella smacks at Erin’s arm. “Alright, alright. I thought we could go to a show after dinner.” Erin says as she plays with Ella’s hair, twisting and twirling it around her fingers.

Ella rolls onto her side, facing Erin. “That sounds perfect.” She kisses her.

Erin bites her bottom lip. She was hoping that what she had planned would be good enough for Ella and that she would like it. Erin didn’t want to go too over the top for a first date but she didn’t want to be a slouch either. She thinks she found a good medium. It won’t be too overwhelming for either of them. It also helps that they already know each other.

Erin curls closer to Ella. “Will you stay overnight?” She whispers.

Ella smiles and nods. “Of course.” She kisses the tip of Erin’s nose and giggles when Erin wiggles it around goofily.

* * *

 

Ella gets up early in the morning. The team has a morning practice and then weight training in the afternoon. She’s excited. Ella is going to the Beyoncé concert with three of her teammates tonight. She wakes up laying on her side with Erin’s wrapped around her from behind.

“Erin.” Ella tries to wiggle out of Erin’s grasp. Not that she wants to get away from her but that she’s too excited to stay in bed and sleep. “Erin. Get up.” She whines when it doesn’t work.

“What? You’re worse than Maxwell.” Erin mumbles and rolls over and away from Ella. There’s no need for her to be awake so early.

“I am not.” Ella protests.

“Well, at least he doesn’t wake me up for no reason.” Erin grumbles.

“I have a reason.” Ella gets out of bed and puts her hands on her hips. She’s waiting for something back from Erin. When she doesn’t get a response she keeps going. “I’m excited and I couldn’t sleep anymore. We are going to Beyoncé tonight. Aren’t you excited? How can you still be asleep?” Ella leans on the bed with one hand and shakes Erin’s shoulder with the other. “Erin.”

“What? Let me sleep.” Erin groans. She knows she’s not gonna be getting any more sleep now that Ella is up and has been talking her ear off.

“You’re no fun.” Ella stomps out of the room.

Before she can go to Beyoncé they have work to go to. Ella leaves the Canadian’s apartment. She didn’t see Dri anywhere. When she returns to her apartment her roommates are nowhere to be seen either. She goes to her room to get a change of clothes and slips into the bathroom to take a shower.

* * *

 

Ella has the spot on the end of the row with her three teammates to her left, concluding with Erin. They are all enjoying the concert but about thirty minutes into Beyoncé’s set Erin slips out to the end of the row.

“Where are you going?” Ella asks her over the music. She can’t believe Erin is leaving right in the middle of Beyoncé. Who does that?

“Bathroom.” Erin tells her and takes a step onto the stairs.

Ella bites her lip. She is tempted to follow Erin. Even though she can’t believe Erin is leaving and going to miss part of the concert. Ella hesitates. “Okay.” She tells Erin and stays in her spot. Erin smiles at her briefly before ascending up the stairs to the bathroom.

A few minutes later, Erin returns to the row with something in her hands. Instead of crawling awkwardly past three people and going back to her seat, Erin tells her teammates to all move down a seat. She elbows Ella in the side. “Move over.”

“I am. Calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down. I am calm.” Erin shoots back.

Ella gets situated in her new spot and glares over at Erin. Erin holds out her hand offering up its possession to Ella.

Ella raises her eyebrows. “For me?” She points to herself. Erin nods. Ella takes the box of Milk Duds from Erin’s hand with a little smile. She opens the box and pops one into her mouth. Ella offers the box to Erin. Erin holds out her hand and Ella shakes one out of the box into Erin’s hand and smiles. Erin pops the candy into her mouth with a pleased grin. Ella sits in her seat with her box of candies and listens and watches the stage with a happy smile. She thinks her night can’t get any better.

Erin glances over at Ella, her head bopping along to her song. She reaches over and pats Ella’s thigh with her hand, leaving it there. Ella looks over and they share a smile. Erin is just happy to be there with Ella and her teammates. She feels lucky even. She is glad to see a smile on Ella’s face and to see her happy.

The concert continues on. Ella starts singing along to one the songs out loud but doesn’t know all the words. She start making up words for the place of the ones she doesn’t know.

Erin notices from next to her and looks over. She watches Ella sing as she sways back and forth a little. She can’t help but think Ella looks absolutely adorable.

After the concert Ella and Erin head back to the apartment building. They stand at Ella’s door at the end of the night. “So?” Ella asks.

“Did you have a good time?” Erin asks.

“Very good.” Ella nods.

“Good. I’m glad.”

“Thanks for the Milk Duds. They’re my favorite.” Ella jiggles the box that she still has. She didn’t eat them all at the concert.

“I know.” Erin grins. Ella smiles, shyly looking down at the floor. “I was just lucky I got them. They were closing down the concession stand for the night.” Erin puts a finger under Ella’s chin and tilts it up. She leans in for a kiss. “You look really good tonight.” Erin leans her forehead against Ella’s and looks down. Down at Ella’s low-cut shirt and her skinny jeans.

“Erin.” Ella gasps. She smacks Erin’s arm.

Erin takes a step away from Ella. “What?” She shrugs.

“You’re terrible.” Ella tells her.

“Just giving a pretty girl a compliment. That’s all.” Erin smirks.

“Ugh, come here.” Ella grabs the front of Erin’s shirt and pulls her to her body. Maybe a little too forcefully because Erin crashes into Ella and Ella crashes into the door behind her. With a grunt Ella lips lock with Erin’s in a heated kiss. Erin’s hands go to Ella’s hips.

“Woah.” Erin breaks away after several moments, breathless. “Where- did that come from?”

Ella shrugs and looks away from Erin. “Hey.” Erin gets her to look back. She changes the subject. “I had a great time tonight. Thanks for getting the tickets.” Erin mentions. She brings her hand to Ella’s jaw, swiping her thumb across her cheek. Erin leans in and Ella meet her for a sweet kiss. “Goodnight, beautiful.” Erin whispers afterwards.

Erin gets her every time with that one. Ella smiles. “Goodnight.”

Erin walks backwards to her door, winking at Ella, before turning to unlock the door. Ella waits until she gets the door unlocked. Erin turns back to her. “Go inside.” Erin says.

Ella smiles and shakes her head. “You.” She nods her head at Erin’s door.

“You first.” She says back, folding her arms over her chest. She won’t go in her apartment until Ella goes into hers first.

Ella sighs. She turns around and unlocks the door and turns back to Erin. “On three.” Erin nods. “Hand on the doorknob.” Erin nods again. Ella counts. “One. Two. Three.” She turns her doorknob and watches as Erin does the same. Ella steps into her apartment and faces the hallway. “Shut your door.” She says to Erin across the hall, who is standing in her doorway too.

“You first.” Erin grins.

Ella rolls her but smiles. “Fine.” She gives in first. Ella shuts her apartment door and looks through the peep hole immediately. She catches the end of Erin shutting her door. Ella leans against the door, closing her eyes, and taking a deep breath.

* * *

 

“You ready?” Ella asks Erin for the third time. They’ve gone over what’s about to happen and what they are going to do to film Alyse’s reaction. Ella has the camera all set up. But first they need to film the intro to the show.

Erin rolls her eyes. “Yes, I’m ready.” She been ready to film. She can’t wait until Ella straps that camera onto her chest so she can make fun of her on camera. They go into the conference room and film the intro and then disconnect the camera from it’s tripod and give it to their cameraman for the day.

“Okay. Follow us. I’ll let you know when to start filming.” Ella instructs the cameraman.

The three go into the adjoining room and Ella gets the chest camera ready. “Will you help me with this?” She asks Erin.

Erin nods. “I can’t believe you’re actually gonna wear this.” She chuckles.

“Why?” Ella asks.

Erin shrugs. “Just because. This is a little crazy.” Erin helps Ella with the buckles and the straps. She tightens the straps on the back but allows Ella to tighten the straps on the front. “I’ll let you do those.” Erin points to Ella’s chest. Ella looks down at her chest and blushes. It doesn’t help that the cameraman is standing there with them.

The surprise filming goes off without a hitch. They ended up having, not only Alyse on the show, but Max wanted in on the fun too.

“You guys are crazy.” Alyse says after the camera shuts off. “I can’t believe I agreed to this.”

“You didn’t. It was a surprise.” Ella says.

“Yes, but- I could have said no after you ambushed me in my office.” Alyse points out.

“What? No. You love us Alyse. You would never.” Erin cheeses.

“You’re probably right.” Alyse smiles. “I have to get back to work. You crazy kids have fun.” Alyse walks away from them.

“We will.” Ella says. Alyse exits the room the door closing behind her. “Wait. With what?” Ella is puzzled.

Erin laughs.

“She didn’t mean-?” Ella asks Erin a little worried that Alyse somehow found out about their upcoming date. Ella is getting more and more paranoid the closer it becomes to their upcoming date.

Erin shakes her head. “No. She didn’t. Don’t worry.” Erin grabs Max. “Let’s get out of here.” Ella nods and follows Erin out.

* * *

 

Erin wears a simple grey button down shirt and black skinny jeans with a short heel. Classy, and simple. She looks at herself in the mirror once more before making her way out of her room.

Dri is sitting on the couch watching tv. “Remember to feed Max at seven, if not earlier. I can take him out when I get back but if you want to you can. I trust you.” Erin stands at the end of the couch.

“Okay. Have fun.” Dri smiles at Erin.

Erin nods. “Maxwell.” She calls. He comes running. “Wish me luck, buddy.” She picks him up. He tries to lick her face but Erin let him. “No kisses right now, Max. Be a good boy. I’ll see you later.” She tells him and sets him on the couch. Max goes over and sits on Dri’s lap. “I’ll see you later.”

“I’ll probably be in bed but okay.” Dri tells Erin.

“Okay.” Erin takes a deep breath. She goes to the door and pulls it open. Erin goes down the hallway, down the stairs, and outside. The cab that she called is waiting there. She sighs in relief. Erin pulls the back door open and stick her head in telling the driver what’s up. Telling him directions to where they are going before telling him that she’s gonna run upstairs quick and get her date.

Erin knocks on Ella’s apartment door. She’s nervous. She’s not sure why, but she is. Ella answers the door right away. Erin is surprised and raises an eyebrow. “Were you waiting?”

Ella nods and looks away from Erin. “Yeah. I’m excited and I’m nervous. I didn’t want anyone to see us all dressed up.” She says, feeling bad about it.

Erin nods. She’s listening but her eyes wander. They take in Ella’s attire. A baby blue knee length dress, a belt at the waist, and a heeled boot. “You look great.” Erin says a little awed. It’s rare that Erin has seen Ella all dressed up. It’s rare that they dress up really. It’s mostly athletic wear and sweats that they wear. Tank tops, t-shirts, and shorts are staple items.

“You look good too.” Ella likes what Erin is wearing, thinks it works very well for her.

Erin leans in for a hug, wrapping her arms around Ella and kissing her cheek. “You ready to go?” She asks.

Ella takes a deep breath. “No.” But she’s as ready as she’s going to be.

Erin wraps her hand around Ella’s upper arm. “Relax. It’ll be fine. It’s just you and me. Having dinner. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. You’ll be fine. There’s nothing to be nervous about.” Erin tells her. She wants to laugh because she’s telling Ella not to be nervous but she’s nervous too. Even though she doesn’t want to think of this dinner as a big deal it sort of really is.

The thing is, that Ella’s not nervous about Erin or dinner. She’s nervous about the people that will see them. She nervous about everybody else and what they will think.

Erin holds out her elbow for Ella to take. Ella does and the walk out of the building to the cab. Erin pulls the door open for Ella and gestures for her to enter before getting in the backseat with her. Erin places her hand on Ella’s knee as the driver makes his way through the streets of Chicago to the restaurant. They don’t talk on the way there which is unusual. Ella is always talking about something even if it’s just random things. Erin squeezes Ella’s knee when they are a few blocks away from the restaurant and smiles over at her. Ella smiles back nervously.

The cab pulls up to the curb and Erin pays the driver. “Have a good night, ladies.” He tells them kindly.

“Thank you.” Erin says and gets out of the cab. She waits for Ella, holding out her hand to help Ella get out of the cab.

Erin gets and holds the restaurant door for Ella. Ella smiles a shy thank you. The waitress shows them to a booth after Erin confirms the reservation. They get settled and open their menus. Erin orders wine for both of them.

The waiter leaves to go get the wine and Ella leans forward over the table. “Erin.” She whispers. “This is really nice. Like really really nice. Look at the prices on the menu. They’re just dollar amounts. There aren’t even cents after them. The cheapest thing I see is twenty-five dollars.”

Erin smiles at Ella’s little freak out. “It’s fine. I picked this place. I know what it’s all about.” She knew this was gonna happen. “Order whatever you want.”

“Erin.” Ella whines. It’s too expensive. She doesn’t have a lot of money. And she knows Erin isn’t made of money either. They could go somewhere else a little less expensive and save their money for more important things than a date.

“I’m serious.” Erin gives her a look. Ella opens her mouth to say something else but Erin cuts her off. “I’m serious. Order whatever you want. It’s not every day you go on a first date.” Erin smiles. Ella sighs and nods. She looks over the menu again.

They order and Erin brings up her sister and they start talking about their families while they wait for their meals. Erin mostly lets Ella steer the conversation in whatever direction she wants. She’s fine with that. Erin thinks she could listen to Ella talk all day and never get tired of it.

“Do you want dessert?” Erin asks after the meal.

Ella licks her lips. She would love dessert but she knows it’s expensive and she’s not that hungry. “I don’t know.” She tilts her head to the side.

“What if we share?” Erin smirks. Ella finds herself nodding. “Cheesecake?” Erin knows Ella likes cheesecake.

“Sounds perfect.” Ella sighs happily. She was nervous at first but now seeing how it’s going, Ella has calmed down and is enjoying the evening. She was worried about that people would know they were on a date and what they thought about it. But no one seems to pay any attention to them. And if anyone does notice they don’t stare or bring attention to it. Ella is thankful the night is going so smoothly.

They are in the cab on the way back from the theater after the show when Ella takes Erin’s hand in her own and brings it to her lap. Erin looks over at her with surprise. She was in the middle of explaining her latest art project to Ella and was most looking out the window as the cab drove. Erin wants to say something. Or ask if Ella is sure. It’s just the cab driver but they are still in public. Ella gives Erin a tight-lipped smile and rests her head on Erin’s shoulder for the rest of the ride back to the apartment.

They, boldly, walk up the stairs hand in hand all the way to Ella’s door.

“So, how was tonight?” Erin asks. She’s anxious to hear a review of the night. If Ella liked it. If she had a good time.

“It was wonderful. Thank you, Erin.” Ella looks between her door and Erin.

“That’s good to hear.” Erin says with a sneaky smirk. She leans up against the door frame, cornering Ella between her body and the door. “Does that mean I get a goodnight kiss?” She asks, eyeing Ella meticulously.

Ella swallows thickly. She looks left and right down the hallway. She feels a little exposed. But it’s late and there’s no one around. Ella nods.

Erin leans in, cupping Ella’s face with her free hand and kissing her sweetly. She pulls back quickly though. “Will you be willing to go on another date with me again sometime?” She asks eagerly.

Ella grins at Erin and nods her head. Erin gets really excited and does a fist pump. It pulls a healthy laugh from Ella that Erin loves. Erin pecks Ella’s lips once more. “But you have to plan the second date.” She raises an eyebrow at Ella waiting for a challenge or response from her.

Ella nods. She thinks that’s fair enough. “So now what?” She asks as they stand at the door.

The date is over. The night is over. It’s late. Erin is tempted to grab Ella by the arm and drag her into her apartment and into her bed. But… Erin shrugs. “You go into your apartment and go to bed. We have a game tomorrow. And I’ll go back to my apartment and I’ll go to bed.” Erin is realistic about this. Plus, how would she look dragging her date to bed on their first date.

Ella frowns and looks down at the floor. She’s not sure she likes the sound of that. She would rather she get to sleep in the same bed as Erin tonight. She’s become attached to the feeling. “Okay.” She says though.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Erin tells her wondering if she can sneak another kiss in or not.

“Yeah, goodnight.” Ella turns to unlock her apartment door. Getting it unlocked and turning back to Erin.

Erin smiles. She walks backwards to her door, turns sideways and puts the key in the door. Erin unlocks the door and pushes it open. She focuses completely on Ella once more. “Goodnight, beautiful.” She grins and disappear into her apartment.

Ella sighs standing at the door. Her night with Erin was near perfection.


	10. Chapter 10

They won their game 1-0 and Ella is walking into the locker room after the game and signing autographs with Jackie, when she spots Erin. “Hey.” She pats Jackie on the back. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Yeah, sure.” Jackie says. She watches as Ella’s attention drifts from her over to their goalkeeper. Jackie goes over to her locker and Ella goes over to Erin’s locker.

“Hey, great game today, McLeod.” Ella starts with.

“Thanks.” Erin stops taking off her cleats and smiles up at Ella.

“Clean sheet.” Ella grins.

“Yup.” Erin nods.

Ella stands there awkwardly.

“Anything else?” Erin quirks an eyebrow.

“Uh-“ Ella looks around the room. “I guess not. I just wanted to say great work out there.”

“It’s my job.” Erin says, smirking.

“And you’re very good at it.” Ella kicks her toe against the floor, awkwardly. “I should go get changed.” She points over to her locker.

“Okay.” Erin says.

It might be one of the weirdest exchanges the two have ever had after a game. They both now there’s a line that shouldn’t be crossed. It needs to stay strictly professional but Ella wants to say non-professional things and it just becomes awkward.

* * *

 

Ella carries the box balanced on her left hand. Her right free to open doors. The first door being the apartment building door. The second being the Canadian’s apartment door. “I’ve got donuts.” She yells into the apartment and Max comes running over to her.

“Hey, buddy. Come on.” She lets Max out and shuts the door.

Ella spins around with Max in tow. She turns the knob on her apartment door and pushes it open. She lets Max go in first, before yelling into the apartment. “I’ve got donuts.” Ella walks in and puts the box of donuts on the counter. She, then, gets a bowl out and gets some water for Max. Ella puts it on the floor and Max runs over.

“Did your mommy take you for a walk yet?” Ella asks him

Max just looks up at Ella curiously before getting a drink.

Ella chuckles. “I’ll have to ask her.”

“Are you talking to yourself?” Taryn comes out from her room. She doesn’t see anyone else in the room other than Ella.

“No. Max.” She points down at the pup. “I got donuts.” She points to the donuts.

“Alright. Thank you, Ella.” Taryn walks over to Ella and gives her a side hug. They all know about Ella’s Sunday tradition and what it means to her.

The door pushes open. “Who stole my dog?” Erin calls out. “Maxwell.” She calls for him. Her hands on her hips. Max comes over wagging his tail and Erin picks him up. She goes over to Ella. “Did you take my dog without asking?” She questions even though she totally knows the answer. She’s just trying to mess with Ella a little bit.

“No.” Ella denies it, looking everywhere but at Erin.

“Are you sure, cuz he somehow got over here without me knowing.” Erin asks, smiling at Ella.

Taryn watches the interaction closely as she eats her donut. The awkward banter doesn’t go unnoticed.

“Well-“ Ella looks up at Erin, biting her lower lip. “-maybe.” She grins, a twinkle in her eye.

“Is that a yes?” Erin quirks an eyebrow.

Ella looks away, to the donuts, and nods. “You want a donut? I got your favorite.” Ella changes the subject.

Dri enters the apartment looking like she just woke up. Even though it’s mid-morning, she just did.

“Yes, please.” Erin sets Max down and he runs over to the couch and hops up onto it. Erin looks into the box of donuts, her stomach grumbling. Ella hears it and giggles. Ella reaches into the box and pulls out Erin’s donut and hands it to her.

“Thank you.”

“Did you take Max for a walk already?” Ella asks. She doesn’t want any accidents.

“I did.” Erin takes a bite into her donut and hums at the taste. “Thank you.” Erin says again in reference to the donuts.

Dri reaches around Erin to pick out a donut. “Thanks, Ella.” She goes to get a cup of coffee from the coffee maker. This has become a natural thing for Sunday mornings in their apartment.

“Yep.” Ella says and picks out a donut of her own. She takes a bite and smiles, thinking of her dad. Ella looks over at Erin. She’s already halfway through her donut. “Someone’s hungry.” Ella chuckles.

“I haven’t had anything to eat yet today. I’ve been waiting for this.” Erin knew the donuts would be coming. She just wasn’t sure when.

“Erin.” Ella hates when Erin does that. She’ll wait for the donuts and not eat anything beforehand.

“I’m fine.” Erin wiggles her donut in front of Ella face. “I’m good now.” She smiles. Erin points to Ella’s shirt. “You got something on your shirt.” She points closely to Ella’s chest.

Ella looks down and Erin flicks her hand up, flicking Ella’s nose with her pointer finger and starts laughing.

“Hey.” Ella whines and grabs at her nose. “That’s not funny, Erin.”

“Yes- it is.” Erin laughs and slaps at the counter.

Ella shakes her head and walks away from, a too busy laughing, Erin.

Erin laughs on. “Every time. Works every time.”

The girls all get a donut and coffee. Lori joins them and sit around the rest of the morning talking and enjoying the down time.

* * *

 

Ella goes for a run in the afternoon. She runs through the park and sees the people enjoying their Sunday afternoon. The families with the children, the dogs, the happy couples, the smiles on faces. Even the two men that sit on one of the benches, playing guitars and asking for money, have happy smiles on their faces. It makes Ella smile as she runs. Sunday’s for her used to be all about church and God and family. But things are looking a little different these days.

Ella runs back to her apartment with one single thought in her mind. She stops running two blocks away and starts a cool down walk. Ella stretches on the steps of her building before going in. She goes up the stairs to her floor. She tries the knob. It’s turns and she pushes the door open. Thankful.

Max comes running to her with a toy in his mouth. “Maxwell.” She cheers. Ella grabs the toy from him and throws it across the room, over the couch, and he runs after it.

She looks over and sees Erin standing there staring, her mouth hanging open, a spoon in her hand. “What?” Ella asks. She takes her earbuds out of her ears.

“I- uh-“ Erin walks over to Ella. Her fingers reaching out and stroking over the skin of Ella’s muscular stomach.

“Oh, yeah.” Ella looks down. “I know you don’t like it when I don’t wear a shirt.”

She’s a sweaty mess from her run but Erin doesn’t seem to care. She moves her hand to Ella’s hip and meets Ella’s eyes. Erin swallows thickly. “I never said I didn’t like it. Quite the opposite. It’s just a distraction. Right now, a very pleasant distraction.” Erin smirks.

“Oh yeah, McLeod. Like what you see?” Ella smirks back. Two can play at this game.

“Very much so.” Erin licks her lips.

“Well, I didn’t just come over her to flaunt my abs in front of you.” Ella tells her. She puts her hand on Erin’s arm, the one that is reaching out and grasping her hip.

“No?” Erin looks between Ella’s face and her stomach.

“No. I have a request.”

“Anything.” Erin says straight away. The abs getting to her head.

Ella chuckles. “You don’t even know what it is yet.”

“So.” Erin shrugs. Her minds spins with all the things she wants to do right now with Ella and her abs.

Ella shakes her head. “Focus.” She says firmly. “You should stay over at my place tonight.” Ella says.

“But we never do that.” Erin focuses in on Ella’s face, specifically her lips.

“I know. And I think we should. Isn’t it a little suspicious that I’m always over here. Maybe you should start making more appearances at my apartment.”

“Okay.” Erin says simply.

“That’s it.” Ella chuckles.

Erin shrugs. “Yeah.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Ella looks behind Erin to the stove. Erin is cooking something.

“Maybe.” Erin grips at Ella’s side, pulling her towards her at the same time she takes a step forward. She doesn’t care that Ella is all sweaty. It actually adds to Erin’s desire right now.

“Erin what are you-“ Erin cuts Ella’s words off with a kiss. A heated, passionate kiss. Erin pours all of her feelings right now into the kiss. Ella is a little taken a back at first but reciprocates after a second or two. Ella wraps her palm around the back of Erin’s neck and deepens the kiss. This wasn’t her intention when she came over here but she’ll take it.

Erin holds onto both of Ella’s hips and backs up Ella against door and presses into her, pinning Ella between herself and the door. Erin rests her forehead against Ella’s breathing heavily. “You’re so hot.” Erin practically moans.

Ella’s cheeks pink. “Erin.” She whispers and rubs her thumb over the nape of Erin’s neck. She’s not sure what to do. Ella’s not ready for this to go further, though, she thinks she wants it to. “I- I- what are you cooking?” She tries to distract Erin.

Erin pulls her face away from Ella’s and looks over her shoulder. “Shit.” She mumbles and hurries over to the stove. “It’s burnt. Damn it.” She says with frustration. Frustration not only about her burnt sauce.

“I’ll text you later.” Ella says and sneaks out the door. She goes back to her apartment and takes a long, cold shower.

* * *

 

Erin goes over to Ella’s apartment with Dri in the evening with the promise of watching movies.

The group from the two apartments watches two movies before calling it a night. Dri and Erin get up to leave. Max too. He was sitting on Ella’s lap during movie time. Erin and Dri go out into the hallway. “I’m gonna take Max for a walk but I won’t be back tonight. You can lock the door when you go in.” Erin says. Dri raises and wiggles her eyebrows at Erin. “Not like that.” She sighs, frustrated. “We haven’t- it’s not like that.”

“What?” Dri is surprised.

“I’m trying to be respectful. I don’t wanna push. I honestly don’t know if or when-“ Erin knows that Ella is into her but she doesn’t know if Ella will ever take that leap or be ready to take that leap.

“Wow. With all the time you two spend together I just figured.” Dri shrugs.

“Yeah.” Erin shrugs too. “I’m gonna go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Erin.” Dri says and goes into their apartment.

Erin takes Max outside and pulls her phone out of her pocket. She sends Ella a quick text before pocketing her phone and walking Max.

Ella waits for Erin in the kitchen. Her roommates have gone to bed and she’s just waiting for Erin’s return. Ella gets a little thrill out of this. Sneaking around is exciting. There’s a tapping on the door after a few minutes and Ella goes over and opens it. She’s greeted with a kiss from Erin.

“Well, hello.” Ella grins.

“Let’s go to bed.” Erin tells her and leads Ella to her own bedroom. Ella happily follows Erin to her room. She’s excited about Erin sleeping in her bed tonight, for a change. That’s all she wanted out of today. And she’s getting it.

* * *

 

Ella wakes up in the middle of the night. She wakes up from a bad dream, scared and crying. Erin is behind her so Ella rolls over onto her other side. She grips onto the front of Erin’s shirt and pulls herself into Erin’s chest. “Erin.” She whispers, tears streaming down her face. She scared and she clings to Erin’s shirt. “Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.” She chants and shakes Erin a little.

Erin wakes up and feels the grip that Ella has on her shirt, balling it in her fists. “Ella, what’s wrong?” She can’t see Ella’s face because it is tucked under her chin, buried into her chest.

Ella shakes her head. “I had a bad dream.” She’s a little embarrassed about it, but she’s more scared than embarrassed and that wins out.

Erin rubs at Ella’s back soothingly. “It’s okay.” Everyone has bad dreams now and then but this seems to have really shaken Ella.

Ella shakes her head more. “Noooo.” She cries.

Erin is a little freaked out now. Nothing like this has ever happened before. She’s slept in the same bed as Ella plenty of times now and she’s never woken up to anything like this in the middle of the night. “Do you want to talk about it?” Erin asks, hoping that will help.

“No.” Ella whimpers and tries to get closer to Erin even though she’s as close as she can physically get. In her attempt, she ends up pushing Erin onto her back in her panic. Ella practically crawls on top of Erin, her arms going around her neck as she lays on top of Erin’s chest.

Erin wraps her arms around Ella, holding her securely. “Ella, I think you should talk about your bad dream. It will make you feel better afterwards.”

Ella shakes her head. “It was a nightmare. It was terrible.”

Erin rubs her hands over Ella’s back and kisses her forehead. She tries a different tactic. “What was the dream about?” She asks, figuring it can’t be that bad.

Ella cries harder. “It was really bad.” Ella mumbles. “A nightmare. The worst.” She says through her crying. “I- I- you died. That you died.” Ella sobs.

Erin stills her hands on Ella’s back as a cold shiver runs through her body. She wasn’t expecting that. It’s very eerie.

Ella sucks in a shaky breath. “And they- shipped your body back to Canada- for the funeral- and I didn’t even get to- say goodbye.” She says choppily and cries into Erin’s shirt.

Erin takes a deep breath and holds it for a moment. That is definitely a nightmare. It scares Erin a little. She’s not one that thinks dreams mean too much but she sure hopes Ella’s dream doesn’t mean anything. Erin thinks for a few minutes, just rubbing Ella’s back and holding her close. She figures its probably Ella’s most feared nightmare after what happened with her dad. Losing someone close to her again and not being able to say goodbye. It suddenly puts their relationship into perspective.

“Shhh.” Erin hushes. “It’s gonna be okay. I’m not going anywhere.” Erin tells her.

Ella shakes in Erin’s arm, she’s that upset. “You can’t say that- don’t make promises you can’t keep.” She stuck in a needed breath. “You don’t know what gonna happen. Nothing is guaranteed.” Ella says darkly.

Erin knows that Ella has a point. She doesn’t like that point. But that’s how Ella sees the world, especially after her father’s death. She holds Ella as she cries. Erin makes a commitment to herself right then and there that she’s gonna do everything in her power to never allow Ella to feel that pain that her father’s death caused again. That pain that is still there, those lasting effects.

“It’s alright.” Erin is at a loss for words. “I’ve got you.” She kisses Ella forehead again.

* * *

 

Ella wakes up all groggy the next morning. Her throat is scratchy, her mouth dry, her eyes itchy. The night’s events playing over again in her mind. She’s still laying on Erin’s chest with Erin’s arms wrapped around her back, holding her. Erin never once let go.

In the light of day, Ella feels a bit silly about the whole thing. She knows it was just a bad dream but it felt so real at the time. And it could really happen, like in real life. She doesn’t want to think about it but doesn’t know what she would do if it did happen. Ella is a bit ashamed about her reaction. She didn’t know just how much Erin meant to her until that dream, until now. To have that kind of reaction was frightening in more than one way.

Ella moves a little in Erin’s arms and Erin wakes up at the slightest disturbance. She had been on high alert all night since the dream, even in sleep. Erin opens her eyes and looks to Ella but Ella won’t meet her eyes. Erin brings a hand to Ella’s cheek, cupping it, and holding her there so she can’t look away. “It’s okay. You have nothing to be embarrassed about.” She leans up and kisses Ella’s forehead.

Ella nods, finally meeting Erin’s eyes. “Thank you.”

Erin nods and rubs gentle circles on Ella’s back.

They lay together for a few minutes before Ella eventually gets up, feeling better about everything than she had when she woke up. No matter what is happening with her she always puts a smile on her face, puts on a brave face for everyone around her. Ella tries to not let her personal life affect her professional life. She has a job to do. And they have practice this morning.

“How do you want to play this?” Erin asks in reference to her being in Ella’s room all night. She sits up in bed.

When they are at Erin’s, it’s easy. Dri knows the situation. Erin might not be out publicly but all her Canadian teammates know. Her Chicago teammates, not so much. She thinks a few of them might have their suspicions but she hasn’t told anyone and no one has asked her specifically about it. She knows some of them know though. Dri knows and Dri figured out what’s going on. So that’s easy. But her staying at Ella’s is a little tricky.

Ella shrugs as she puts her hair up into a messy bun. She might be losing her mind, but she doesn’t really care right now. Which is crazy. But after the night she had, Ella doesn’t care. She grabs Max off the floor by the door where he was waiting. He’s such a good dog that he can sense when something is off or wrong. He just sat by the door and waited patiently to be let out, no whining or complaining. Ella picks him up and opens the door and goes out into the kitchen, leaving Erin still in bed.

Lori is up already and eating breakfast. Lori is always up early. Ella walks into the room with Max in her arms.

“Morning.” Lori says when she sees Ella. “Maxwell?” She questions the dog’s presence.

“Say hi, Max.” Ella jiggles the pup in her arms. He smiles and sticks his tongue out, panting happily.

“Why is he-“ Lori cuts herself off when Erin appears behind Ella, from the bedroom. “Oh.” Lori’s a bit surprised to see Erin. “Good morning, Erin.” She greets her kindly.

“Morning.” Erin blushes a little. Now she knows how Ella feels in the morning at her apartment. It’s a little uncomfortable. No one asks questions about it. Or asks the right questions. And then everyone goes on with their days. It’s a bit odd. Or maybe it’s not.

“What are you having?” Erin asks, trying to avoid awkward pauses.

Lori looks down at her food. “Fruit and granola in one bowl. Cereal in the other. And orange juice.”

“Sounds good.” Erin’s stomach rumbles.

Ella hears it, looks down at Erin’s stomach, and giggles. “Someone’s hungry.”

Erin rolls her eyes. “Yeah, well.” She walks up behind Ella, puts a hand on her shoulder. “I can take Max and go.” She says quietly.

Ella just nods and holds Max out for Erin to take. She doesn’t want to see Erin go but she doesn’t have a plan for Erin to stay.

“I’ll see you guys at practice.” Erin says as she moves to the door.

“Care to explain?” Lori asks when the door closes.

“No.” Ella says stubbornly and goes over to the fridge searching for something to eat.

Lori laughs. “Okay. I’m gonna go get changed and ready for practice.”

“Okay.” Ella gets out milk and juice. Then a banana and cereal to make her breakfast. A little time alone will give her time to decompress. She’s never been more emotionally exhausted than in the last few weeks.

* * *

 

Ella gets out her guitar after she has lunch. Practice went well and Ella is looking to unwind a little now. She starts strumming away on a few songs that she’s been working on. She starts singing along when she gets a better idea. Ella takes her guitar and song book and heads out. She goes across the hall. Ella pushes the door open and looks around the apartment. Max comes over to her.

“Where’s your mommy?” Ella asks the dog.

“Over here.” Erin calls out.

Ella hears Erin from on the other side of the couch. She looks over the couch and see Erin sitting on the floor with her back to Ella.

“What are you doing?” Ella questions, going around the couch. Erin is sitting with her legs folded underneath her, her hands on her knees.

“Meditating.” Erin opens one eye and looks up at Ella.

“Why?” Ella stands in front of Erin, holding her guitar and songbook in one hand. Max stands next to her. They both look at Erin curiously.

Erin sighs and opens her other eye. “There are many reasons to meditate. But, I mostly meditate to reduce stress, to calm myself, to calm my nerves, and clear my head.”

“Oh. Did you want me to leave so you can finish?” Ella looks around the room awkwardly.

Erin shakes her head. The process already disturbed. She would have to start all over again. “No. It’s fine.” Erin pushes herself up from the floor. “I see you brought your guitar. What’s up?” Erin leans in and presses her lips to Ella’s cheek.

“Oh, I- uh- I was working on some songs. I brought my book.” Ella holds out the guitar and book.

“Okay.” Erin raises an eyebrow. “And?”

“I was playing in my room and thought maybe we could jam.” Ella suggests with a happy smile.

“Jam?” Erin asks. Ella nods. “Jam?” Erin grins. “What is this? Who says jam?” Erin teases.

Ella looks down at the floor and stick out her bottom lip. “Me?” She says, unsure.

Erin starts chuckling. “How are you so cute sometimes?” She sets her hands on Ella’s waist and starts walking her backwards, towards the bedroom, the whole time her face an inch away from Ella’s. Ella looks at her with curious eyes. “We can jam.” Erin grins.

Once in Erin’s room, Ella sits down on the chair and starts plucking at the strings of her guitar. Erin tidies up somethings in her room before sitting down on the edge of the bed, facing Ella.

“Do you know any songs that I know?” Erin asks. She’s curious as to what Ella has been doing on guitar recently. They’ve played a few times.

Ella starts playing a song on her guitar that Erin recognizes. Erin starts singing along and Ella looks over with the biggest smile on her face. She loves the sound of Erin’s voice. She thinks Erin could be a professional singer if she wanted. She thinks Erin could be a lot of professional things if she wanted. Singer, artist, poet or author, designer. She’s just so talented.

Erin keeps beat by taping at her knee with her hand. She signs along with the song as Ella plays. Erin finishes the singing part and Ella plays the end of the song out. “How long have you been playing guitar?” Erin asks when they finish.

“I don’t know. A handful of years. I started teaching myself when I was overseas.” Ella tells her. “Not as long as I’ve known how to play piano.”

“How long is that?” Erin asks, curious.

“Since, I was a little kid. My mom made me take piano lessons. My parents were very into music.” Ella smiles and bites her lips.

“Me too. I hated it. At the time. But I’m glad my mom made me do it.”

Ella smiles as she imagines a little Erin sitting at a piano, a scowl on her face, as she’s forced to practice. “We should do another song for the show. Like for one of the last episodes or something.” She really just wants to hear Erin sing more.

“I’d be down for that.” Erin agrees.

“You pick the song and I’ll learn it on guitar or piano.” Ella tells her. She doesn’t care what song they do as long as she gets to hear Erin sing. And letting Erin pick the song means she’ll pick one that she likes and is comfortable singing.

“Deal.” Erin holds out her hand for Ella to shake.

“What are you doing?” Ella asks with a raised eyebrow.

Erin just jiggles her hand at Ella. “Shake it.” She insists.

Ella laughs but reaches out for Erin’s hand, taking it, shaking it. She goes to let go but Erin keeps a tight grip on her hand. “Erin.” Ella whines.

Erin smirks. “Come here.” She pulls on Ella’s hand.

Ella gets up and out of the chair with a pull from Erin. “What are you doing?” She questions.

Erin pulls Ella over to the bed and takes the guitar from Ella’s hand, setting it on the bed behind herself. She then pulls Ella onto her lap sideways, wrapping her arms around Ella’s waist.

“Erin?”

“Yeah?” Erin asks, her eyes fixed on Ella’s face.

“What are you doing?” Ella asks.

“Admiring you. Your face. Your guitar skills. Your everything. Who knew those little sausage fingers had so much talent in them?” Erin jokes.

“Hey.” Ella smacks at Erin arm. “I don’t have little sausage fingers.”

“Ella. You do.” Erin breaks it to her.

“I do not.” Ella pouts.

“You do to.” Erin says. “But it’s okay. I like your little sausage fingers.” Erin reaches for Ella’s hand and brings it to her lips, kissing the backs of Ella’s fingers. She looks into Ella’s eyes as she does so.

“Erin.” Ella sighs. She takes her hand from Erin’s lips and puts it on her cheek. Ella leans in for a soft kiss. One that Erin is more than waiting for. Ella wraps her hand around the back of Erin’s neck and deepens the kiss.

Erin holds onto Ella at the waist, her fingers play with the bottom of Ella’s shirt. Eventually, moving to caress the skin at the small of Ella’s back. Ella licks at Erin’s lips and Erin opens her mouth to allow access. Ella slips her tongue into mouth eliciting a moan from Erin.

Erin’s lips leave Ella’s, creating a trail to her ear, sucking her earlobe into her mouth before letting it go with a pop. Ella gets so caught up that when Erin starts lifting up the bottom of her shirts she lifts her arms and lets Erin remove it without protest. As soon as the shirt is discarded Ella’s lips are back on Erin’s.

Erin’s hands roam the newly exposed skin. Her fingertips tracing over the muscles on Ella’s side before traveling to her abs. She loves Ella’s body and appreciates as much of it as she can.

 “Erin.” Ella mumbles against Erin’s lips. She pulls away from Erin’s face but Erin follows, searching for more kisses. But, Ella ducks away from her. “Erin. Wait.”

Erin puckers her lips and leans forward. “Why?” She whines.

“I- you- we- I don’t feel-“ Ella stutters. Her fingers play over the spot on Erin’s neck where her hair ends.

Erin sighs, frustrated. “Okay.” She slumps.

“I’m sorry.” Ella apologizes. She feels bad but she just doesn’t feel comfortable going forward.

“Don’t apologize.” Erin tells her. “It’s fine.” She leans in for a quick kiss and Ella allows her. Sometimes Erin wonders why she had to like Ella so much. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be going through all of this. She wouldn’t be so sexually frustrated.

Ella bites her lip and nods. She knows it’s not fine. She can feel it too. The frustration. She’s just too nervous, too scared.

“But, I think maybe- maybe you should head home. I’ll see you later for bowling. Okay?” Erin tells Ella.

“Okay.” Ella kisses Erin’s cheek before getting off of her lap. She grabs her guitar and heads to the door. “See ya.” Ella smiles at Erin once more before leaving.

Erin flops get on the bed with a groan. She runs her hands through her hair and takes a few deep breaths. Erin gets up after a minute. She pushes herself off the bed and goes to her dresser, getting out a fresh shirt and pair of shorts before going to the bathroom and taking a cold shower.

* * *

 

The team meets at the local bowling alley for their team bonding night. They split into team of four and bowl two games before calling it a night. It’s always fun to get to together with the whole team for something other than soccer. With athletes there’s always so much competition. That’s what makes them great athletes. Competition. That and hard work, skill, and talent among other things. But the bowling is very competitive of course. It makes for lot of teasing and joking afterwards.

“Ella, how are you so terrible at bowling?” Lori asks as they walk back to the apartment building.

“I’m not terrible. I’m just- not great.” Ella hangs her head. She doesn’t like to admit it but she’s pretty bad at bowling.

“It’s because she has small hands.” Erin chimes in.

Ella looks over at Erin and glares at her. “I do not.”

Lori and Taryn laugh. “Oh my god. You do.” Dri says. “Erin’s right.”

“Hey, someone agrees with me.” Erin bites her lip.

Ella huffs out a breath in frustration. She sticks her hands in her pockets and starts walking faster, ahead of the group. She’s going to blame Erin for this particular round of teasing. It is one thing for Erin to tease her about her ‘small hands’ but for her to bring it to the other girls is another.

“Oh, you in trouble.” Taryn says to Erin.

Erin has figured as much by now. The further Ella gets away from the group, the worse it is. “Yeah.” Erin nods and runs to catch up with Ella. She wraps her arm around Ella’s shoulders, walking at her side. “Hey.” She gets Ella’s attention. “I’m sorry. It’s just a joke.” Erin says.

Ella looks over at Erin. Her face a lot closer than she thought it would be. She can’t be mad at Erin. She isn’t mad at Erin. She’s just sensitive when someone makes fun of her, even if it is in joking.

Erin makes a goofy face and it makes Ella smile. She knows that all might not be forgiving but that Ella isn’t mad at her. Erin sticks her tongue out and Ella laughs. “I love your laugh.” Erin whispers. Ella smiles up at Erin in delight. She slows them down subtly so the rest of the group can catch up and walk together the few blocks back to the apartment.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. It's been a while. But i've been working 50-60 hour weeks so my time is limited. Forgive me. But i forge on.

Erin walks to the apartment door and Max follows her over. “Sorry, buddy, you gotta stay here. I’ll be back in a little bit though.” She tells the little dog and opens the door, leaving him behind. Erin steps out into the hallway, suddenly nervous. Her hands are sweating. She hasn’t heard from or seen Ella since she saw her in the weight room early in the afternoon. It’s now well past dinner.

She knocks on the door and takes a deep breath. This is unusual for her. Ella’s always the one coming to her and it makes her nervous. She just wants to check in with Ella before the end of the day. See if everything is okay since she hasn’t heard from her.

Taryn answers the door. “Yes?” She raises an eyebrow at her teammate.

Erin tries looking around Taryn to see if she can spot Ella behind her in the apartment. Taryn catches on and blocks the gap between herself and the door by closing the door so that she is positioned between the edge of the door and the door frame.

“Uh- is Ella around?” Erin asks awkwardly. She feels like she’s a teen and she’s going to pick up her date and having to talk to her date’s parents.

“Why do you ask?” Taryn smirks.

“I- uh-“ Erin didn’t think she would get questioned. “Is she around?” She asks again.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Taryn stands her ground.

Erin sighs and looks down at the floor. “I wanted to see her.” She mumbles.

Taryn reaches out and smacks Erin on the arm. “No, worries buddy.” Erin looks up at Taryn’s smiling face. “I figured it out.” Taryn shrugs. Erin frowns, but nods. “Ella’s not the most subtle person. And when I figured out where she was going most nights it all clicked together.”

Erin nods, not finding much to say. “Yeah.” Erin wonders how many people know about them. “So uh-?”

“She’s not here.” Taryn smiles.

Erin throws her hands up in the air. “All of that for nothing.” Erin grumbles about Taryn leading her on. She wonders where Ella could be if she’s not home. “Okay. Thanks.” She says politely and turns away from Taryn. That’s when Taryn starts laughing. “What?” Erin asks her.

“She’s up on the roof.” Taryn informs Erin.

Erin narrows her eyes at Taryn. First, wondering what Ella is doing on the roof. Second, wondering why Taryn didn’t just tell her that. Erin spins around without another word and heads for the stairs.

“Your welcome.” Taryn calls after Erin and laughs.

Erin walks up the two flights of stairs that it takes to get to the roof. She pushes the door open and looks around. It’s dark outside and she’s not sure if she wants to be on the roof at night. Erin’s only been on the roof a couple of times, but they were both during the daytime.

“Ella.” Erin calls out.

“Over here.” Ella calls back.

Erin looks in the direction that Ella’s voice came from. She sees Ella sitting in the corner of the roof where the two four-foot-tall walls meet. Erin walks over and sits down next to her. “What are you doing up here?” Erin asks her.

“Thinking.” Ella shrugs, looking up at the sky.

“About?”

“All sorts of things. Soccer. My career. How I want to be known. Life, in general. Then I looked up. You can’t really see the stars cuz of all the light pollution but it’s clear and I know they are up there. I was thinking about my dad. Today’s the twenty-third.”

“Yes, it is.” Erin doesn’t know why Ella is telling her the date. She knows what day it is.

Ella looks over at Erin for the first time. “They found him on the twenty-third. I got the call on the twenty-third.”

Erin realizes suddenly what Ella is talking about. If Ella would just not talk in riddles Erin would be able to catch on the first time around. She reaches for Ella’s hand, taking it, and bringing it to her lips for a kiss. Erin looks up at the sky with Ella. There’s not much to see. Ella was right. It’s hard to see the stars but they are there.

They sit in silence for a little while just looking up at the sky. But after a while Ella rolls the back of her head across the wall to the left with curiosity. She looks over at Erin wanting for Erin to look back but she doesn’t after about a minute. “How’d you know I was up here?” Ella whispers.

Erin finally looks over. “Taryn.”

Ella smiles. “I knew I shouldn’t have told her where I was going.”

“Do you want to be alone?” Erin asks, feeling like she’s suddenly not wanted.

“No. I was kidding.” Ella leans her head closer to Erin’s. “I’m glad you found me.”

“Yeah?” Erin asks.

Ella nods and kisses Erin. “Yeah.” She sighs. Everything feels better when Erin is around. Even Ella’s sad, lonely thoughts don’t feel so sad and lonely. Ella rests her forehead against Erin’s. “So why’d you come find me?”

“I wanted to see you.” Erin squeezes Ella’s hand. “We leave for Seattle tomorrow and-“ Erin trails off. She feels silly admitting it but she’s gonna miss Ella.

“And we won’t be home for five or six days. I know.” Ella breathes out a long, deep breath. “Let’s go downstairs.”

Erin gets up first and offers her hand to Ella and helps her up. They walk across the roof hand in hand. Erin gets the door for Ella and holds it, allowing her to enter the building first. Ella waits at the top of the stairs for Erin to shut the door then holds out her hand for Erin to take again.

They walk back down to their floor, and to Erin’s apartment. Max is waiting at the door when Erin opens it. “Hey, buddy.” Erin bends over and picks him up. “We’re back.”

“Hi, Max.” Ella lets go of Erin’s hand to pet Max. She hasn’t seen him yet today.

“Come on.” Erin leads the way through the apartment to her room. Ella follows closely behind her.

Erin sets Max down and he goes to his doggy bed happily. Erin walks over to her bed and peels the blankets back right away. It’s might seem like a weird thing but to them it’s completely normal. Erin gets into bed and Ella follows behind her. Except Ella is wearing a sweatshirt that she put on to go up to the roof knowing she would be there a long time and possibly get chilly. Ella peels her shirt off leaving her in just a sports bra. She throws the shirt over the back of the chair before getting into bed with Erin.

“Really?” Erin asks.

“Shut up. You love it.” Ella settles into Erin’s side.

Erin wraps her arms around Ella and holds her close. “Well, yeah.” Erin grins. She rubs her palm up and down Ella’s arm. She can’t stop thinking about their road trip. It’s less than a week but it seems like so long to Erin. She doesn’t know if she can do it. Spending that many nights in a row alone, without Ella sleeping next to her. It’s strange because she’s never really had that feeling before, with anyone. Just wanting to spend the night with them, cuddled together in bed, sleeping.

“You wanna talk about anything?” Erin asks.

“Not really.” Ella kisses Erin’s cheek. “I just wanna lay here with you.”

“Okay. I’m perfectly alright with that.” Erin smiles.

“But set your alarm for the morning. I don’t want to be late again.” Ella tells her.

Erin laughs but grabs her phone off the nightstand. “Done.” She sets her alarm and puts the phone back.

“Thank you.” Ella cuddles into Erin’s side. Erin presses a kiss to the top of Ella’s head.

They lay bed just appreciating their time together. Sharing lazy kisses and appreciating each other. Ella slips her hand under Erin’s shirt, her fingers stroking over the skin on Erin’s stomach. A shiver runs through Erin’s entire body. Ella even feels it and smirks. “We should level the playing field.” She suggests.

Erin quirks an eyebrow and then narrows her eyes at Ella, not understanding right away.

Ella elaborates. “Well, I don’t have a shirt on.” She says with a blush. In all honesty, she wants to see Erin too.

Erin smirks. “Ella Masar, are you asking me to get naked for you?” Erin jokes. She can’t help it.

Ella bites her lip. “Well, not naked but-“ She squirms awkwardly in Erin’s arms, a little uncomfortable. “You never- I’ve never- ugh-“ She groans. “Forget it.”

Erin giggles. “You’re too cute.”

“So?” Ella asks boldly. She’s still focused on the shirt.

Erin scrunches up her face. She gets nervous at the prospect. She knows it’s stupid but some of her old body image issues resurface. It’s a self-conscious thing. That’s the one thing that makes Erin feel the most vulnerable. “Uh-“

Ella senses the uncomfortable shift in Erin. “What is it? Did I do something wrong?” Ella worries. She takes her hand out from underneath Erin’s shirt and bring it up to Erin’s cheek.

Erin shakes her head. “It’s stupid. It’s nothing.”

“What is it?” Ella strokes her thumb over Erin’s cheek gently. “Please, tell me.” Ella whispers. It’s rare that Erin is uneasy about something. Ella has only seen it once or twice but right now she sees it again.

Erin bites her lip nervously. “I- don’t know. I just-“ She fumbles for the words to say. Ella leans in for a quick but reassuring kiss. It gives Erin the strength to continue. She briefly thinks that Ella has been so brave and open about her issue that she needs to be too. Erin takes a deep breath. “I’m not built like you. I don’t have ripped muscles. I don’t- I’m not-“

“Erin.” Ella says softly, cutting her off. She sees where this is going. Ella doesn’t want Erin comparing herself to her. It’s not a fair comparison. Plus, Ella doesn’t know what Erin is worried about. She’s an athlete. She’s fit and in shape. “Erin, there’s nothing wrong with you. Don’t compare yourself to me. Or anyone else. I’m a freak.”

That gets a laugh out of Erin. Ella kisses the remaining smile on Erin’s lips. “What are you worried about?” Ella asks.

“I was a chubby kid.” Erin admits. “And sometimes I still feel like that chubby kid, especially in vulnerable situations, like this one.”

“Oh, honey.” Ella coos. Erin’s face brightens at the nickname. She cracks a small smile. “What?” Ella asks.

“Nothing.” Erin shakes her head lightly. She loves Ella. She’s known she has for a while now. But, every day she falls more and more in love with her.

“Erin. I know I might have never said it. Because I’m not good with words and expression my feelings through words but you are beautiful. To me, you are perfect. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable around me. So, whatever is good with you, is good with me. But you have no need to worry. You might not have muscles like me but that’s okay. That’s more than okay. I like that you have soft edges. You are the perfect mix of toned athlete and soft cuddly teddy bear.” Ella grins.

“And I don’t know what you’re talking about. There are abs in here.” Ella pokes at Erin’s stomach with her finger.

Erin tenses her muscles. “Stop.”

Ella pokes a few more times. “Okay.” She smiles at Erin.

“So, you been perving on me in the locker room or what?” Erin asks.

Ella shrugs. “I will neither confirm or deny that.” Ella says smugly.

“You so have.” Erin groans. “Oh god.” She closes her eyes.

“What can I say? You’re very attractive.” Ella says outright. Ella runs her fingers down Erin’s arm and then back up, up the column of her neck, to behind her ear, her fingers sliding into Erin’s hair. “And, especially, when your hair is down.”

“You’re too much sometimes.” Erin’s eyes roll back into her head as Ella runs her fingers through her hair, playing with it.

Ella presses her lips to Erin’s neck. “I know.” She grins like the little shit that she is.

Erin thinks she loves Ella just that much more. She feels completely different then she did when they started this conversation. Ella has reassured her that she has nothing to worry about. And that was all Erin needed. That confirmation. Those words from Ella’s lips.

* * *

 

The alarm goes off and Ella reaches across Erin’s body to grab the phone and shut it off as soon as possible. She had been awake before the alarm. But Erin groans at the sound before Ella can make it stop.

“There.” Ella giggles. “It’s off.” She leans in and kisses Erin. “I love waking up with you.” She admits happily.

Erin’s eyes pop open and she smiles wide. “Me too.” She rubs Ella’s back. “But, I don’t want to get up.”

Ella laughs. “Per usual.” Ella rolls over and out of bed. Erin watches as Ella crosses the room and gets her sweatshirt before lifting her arms and pulling her shirt over her head. Erin watches as Ella’s muscles twist and stretch with the activity. She bites her bottom lip and is sad when the shirt comes down covering that beautiful view she just had.

“You’re such a creep.” Ella catches Erin staring.

Erin pushes herself up quickly, getting to her knees, and crawling to the end of the bed. She leans over the edge and grins at Ella. “But, I’m your creep.” She says cheesily.

Ella rolls her eyes. “Whatever, McLeod.” Ella bends over and picks up Max. “Let’s go buddy.” She opens the door and leaves the room.

“Where are you going?” Erin yells after them.

“I’m spending some time with my boy before we go.” Ella calls back. She finds Max’s leash and hooks him to it.

“He’s not your boy.” Erin yells from the bed as Ella gets further and further away. “Hey, wait.” Erin watches as Ella opens the apartment door and leaves with Max. “Where are you going?” Erin yells, finally getting out of bed, and standing at her bedroom door.

The door next to hers opens. Dri stands there rubbing her eyes. “Why are you guys yelling?” She yawns.

Erin looks over at her without an explanation. “Sorry.” She mumbles. She’s more interested in where Max and Ella went. Erin walks away from Dri and over to the apartment door. She opens it and looks left and right. There’s no one in the hallway. Ella must have left with Max for a morning walk.

* * *

 

They all pile into a van mid-morning for their ride to the airport. This time Alyse is with them. Ella sits in the front seat with the driver. It’s a full van today. It’s a long trip to the west coast. Which means more baggage.

At the airport, the assistant coach assigns plane and hotel room buddies. Ella and Dri are paired together. And Erin gets Jackie as a roommate.

“Can I have the aisle seat?” Ella asks when she looks at her ticket. She’s not a big fan of the window seat.

“Sure.” Dri trades tickets with Ella. “You’re not like- afraid of flying or something, and I like- have to hold your hand the whole time or something.”

Ella scrunches up her face. “No.” She says flat out. She not afraid of flying. She’s flown all over the world but she just doesn’t like the window seat. She doesn’t like looking out and seeing the ground so far below or seeing nothing but clouds.

“Okay. As you wish. You can get bumped and banged into the whole flight.” Dri tells her and walks away to go capture a seat before they are all taken. They have to wait until everyone is situated and ready before they go through security.

Ella walks around the group aimlessly. She paces waiting until they can do security. She hates security. That’s the worst part of the airport experience and it puts her on edge. She just wishes she could show up and go through right away and not have to wait for the team.

“Hey.” Erin stops her. “Who’s your roommate?”

“Your roommate.” Ella says.

Erin makes a face. “What?”

“Dri.”

“Oh.” Erin should have thought of that one. Ella continues her pacing. “Are you trying to wear a whole in the floor?” Erin jokes.

“What?”

Erin goes over to where Ella is standing a few feet away from her. She holds Ella’s elbow. “Why are you pacing?”

“I’m not pacing.” Ella shakes Erin off of her and continues her pacing.

“Ella. Stop.” Erin says forcefully.

“What?” Ella grinds her teeth together. She doesn’t want to do whatever they are doing right now.

Erin again goes over to Ella. She puts a hand on each of her shoulders, holding Ella in place. “What’s wrong?” She whispers.

“Nothing.” Ella looks down at the floor.

“Don’t lie to me.”

Ella sighs. “I’m worried I’m gonna do or say something around Dri that’s gonna- I don’t know- get me in trouble.”

“In trouble with who?” Erin asks.

Ella shrugs. “You. Me.”

Erin laughs. “Ella, you’re overthinking things here. It’s fine. Don’t worry so much. Just be your weird self and everything will be fine. Dri knows, so you have nothing to worry about.”

“What?” Ella squawks loudly. Everyone around them looks over. “Sorry.” Ella says in a lower voice, looking around at all the eyes on her. She looks into Erin’s eyes. “Sorry.” She says to Erin.

Erin squeezes Ella’s shoulders. “It’s okay. You’re okay. Stop overthinking everything. Try and get some rest on the plane.”

“I can’t sleep on planes.” Ella mumbles.

“Okay. But do something so you don’t wind yourself up into a frenzy.” Erin advises.

Ella nods. “Thanks.” She feels a little better now that she talked it through with Erin. Like usual, Erin is right. She’s freaking out over nothing. Dri isn’t a problem. Not that anyone is a problem. Ella’s the only one that’s a problem. But, when she gets out of her comfort zone she tends to freak out about everything. Not just this thing with her and Erin.

“Alright, everyone.” The assistant coach rounds everybody up so they can go through security.

“Relax.” Erin says once more before they separate. “Take a few deep breathes.” She advises.

Ella nods. Erin smiles for her and it puts Ella at ease. She gets into line behind Lori and waits patiently to go through security. Erin stands in line behind her and Ella tries to focus on the task at hand and not the fact that Erin is standing behind her. She takes her shoes off when she gets to the front of the line.

“Ewww. Gross.” Erin calls out, in reference to Ella taking her shoes off.

Ella looks back at Erin. “What?” She asks.

“Your stinky feet.” Erin says to everyone around them. “Ella.” She whines, pretending Ella’s feet really do stink.

Ella puts her hands on her hips. “My feet don’t stink.” She protests.

“Let’s go, ladies.” The TSA officer tells them. “You’re holding up the line.” He seems unamused at their antics.

“Great.” Ella hurries along, blushing. “Now you got me in trouble with the security guy.” Everyone in the security area is looking at her.

“TSA.” The TSA officer corrects Ella.

Erin laughs.

Ella ducks her head and hurries through the rest of security. She’s putting her shoes back on when Erin finishes through security. “What was that all about? Why did you have to call out my stinky feet?” Ella asks. She really can’t believe Erin pulled that stunt.

“So, you do agree. You have stinky feet.” Erin says, loudly, as she slips her shoes back on.

“NO.” Ella whines. “That’s not what I meant. Why did you do that?”

Erin shrugs and grabs all her belongings. “Let’s go, Stinky Feet.” She grins and walks towards the gate.

Ella huffs out a frustrated breath. She doesn’t follow Erin and waits for Jackie to get through security so she can walk with someone who won’t make fun of her.

Erin turns around, walking backwards, when Ella doesn’t follow her. “Are you coming or not?” She yells back.

Ella shakes her head. “No.” She huffs.

“Okay, Stinky Feet.” Erin laughs and turns around, walking to the gate by herself. Her whole goal was to get Ella to think about something other than getting worked up about Dri being her roommate. Erin doesn’t know where Ella’s concerns suddenly comes from or if it’s just because of the roommate that Ella got. Either way, she wanted to distract Ella from her thoughts and it worked. Even if Ella is sour at her now for embarrassing her in front of the everyone at security.

Erin pulls her phone out of her pocket and sends out a text. **You don’t have stinky feet. I was just trying to distract you from your thoughts. Please don’t be mad at me.**

Ella’s phone vibrates in her pocket as she’s walking with Jackie and she pulls it out to see that she has a text from Erin. She opens the text, reads it, and smiles. She types out a message and sends it back. **Thanks but could you have thought of a better way to do it instead of embarrassing me.**

Erin reads the incoming message and types out a reply. **Probably. ;) So you’re not mad?**

Ella’s phone vibrates again. She reads the message and shakes her head. **Nope.** She hits send and puts her phone back in her pocket.

“Who are you texting?” Jackie asks afterwards.

Ella looks over at Jackie. “Uh- just my mom.”

“You smile at text messages from your mom like that?” Jackie asks, raising an eyebrow. Jackie knows that Ella was definitely not texting her mother. “Tell me, El. Come on. Who is it? A new love interest?”

Busted. “No.” Ella denies it. “It’s not.”

“Oh. Come on. We are old friends. Please, tell me.” Jackie nearly begs.

Ella shakes her head. “Nope.” She’s not gonna tell Jackie a single thing.

“Fine. But if I’m the last one to find out, you’re in trouble.” Jackie knows Ella’s lying. She can see it by the look on her face.

* * *

 

They get to Seattle and settled into their hotels room before having a late afternoon practice. Everything goes well with Ella and Dri and Ella doesn’t know why she was freaking out in the first place.

The team goes out to dinner and then for a team walk before calling it a night.

* * *

 

The game against Seattle is pretty much a blowout. A 4-1 loss. The whole team is down in the dumps after the game. They didn’t play well. They didn’t play well enough. The person who takes the loss the worst though is Erin. Everyone can see it on her face as soon as the game is over.

Erin goes straight to the locker room, taking off her cleats and throwing them on the floor in frustration. Teammates come by and give her their sympathies. They are feel pretty crappy as a team. It’s not a good feeling.

Ella comes into the locker room after signing a few autographs for some kids. She finds Erin right away. It was a rough loss for the whole team but she knows it was especially rough on Erin.

“Hey.” Ella says as she approaches. Erin looks up from taking her socks off. “It’s a tough one but it’s not your fault we lost. It’s a team game. It’s not all on you.” Ella tells her.

Erin just nods. Ella’s words basically go in one ear and out the other. Erin just focuses on how she let Seattle score four goals on her. Four goals are too many. Any goals in her mind is too many but goals happen. But four is too many. She really played like shit. Her mind wasn’t in the game for whatever reason. Erin feels she wasn’t ready.

Ella stands before Erin for a moment. When she doesn’t get a response from the goalkeeper she moves on. Erin is in her own little world. She’s in a bad mood and doesn’t want to have to talk to anyone at the moment.

* * *

 

The team rides the bus back to the hotel, mostly in silence. Ella catches up to Erin in the hotel hall with the intention of saying goodnight but Erin has her headphones on and brushes Ella off as she enters her hotel room.

Ella sighs. She would feel hurt if it were any other situation but she knows that Erin is in the middle of beating herself up about the game. Ella vows to get through to Erin tonight though, before she goes to sleep.

She goes into her room a few doors down and changes and settles into bed. “Goodnight.” She says as Dri gets into bed.

“Night, Ella. Sleep well.”

“I’m gonna stay up and read for a little bit. If the light doesn’t bother you, that is. I can’t sleep after games.” She explains.

“That’s fine. Goodnight.” Dri gets under the blankets, covering her head from the light.

Ella settles into bed with her book. She decides to wait a little bit. To give Erin some time to cool off before texting her. Ella doesn’t even know if Erin is going to respond to her text or not but she’s going to try anyway.

After about ten minutes of reading, Ella sends out her text to Erin. **I know you’re feeling like shit right now but I just wanted to tell you that you did a good job tonite and I wanted to say goodnight.**

Ella is a bit surprised when she gets a text back from Erin right away. **Can I see you?** The text message reads.

Ella bites her lip. She doesn’t want to get in trouble but she knows Erin needs her right now. **Okay. How?** Ella texts back right away.

Ella gets an immediate response. **Meet me at the ice machine at the end of the hall.** Erin sends her.

Ella texts back an okay and gets out of bed. She looks over at Dri, pretty sure that the girl is asleep. Ella puts her flip-flops on and grabs the ice bucker from by the tv. That will be her cover if anyone stops her. Ella also grabs her room key. She doesn’t want to forget that and have a big incident on her hands.

She heads out and down the hallway, to the end of the hall, to the ice machine. Ella gets there and Erin isn’t there. So she starts filling her ice bucket with ice.

Erin comes up behind Ella. “What are you doing?”

“I’m getting ice.” She says, looking down at her nearly fully ice bucket.

Erin raises an eyebrow. “Do you need ice?” Erin wonders if Ella actually needs ice. Like for an injury or something.

“No.” Ella sets the bucket on the top of the ice machine and turns to Erin. It’s the perfect spot, by the ice machine. Secluded at the end of the hall, tucked in the corner by the stairs.

Erin snakes her arms around Ella’s waist and leans against her, laying her head on Ella’s shoulder.

Ella wraps her arms around Erin’s back. “Do you want to talk about it?” Ella asks.

Erin shakes her head. “No.” She whispers.

Ella starts talking anyway. “It’s not your fault Erin. The defense let you down too. It’s not all on you. We need to do better as a team. Seattle has great strikers.”

Erin sighs against Ella. “I just feel like I could’ve done better.”

Ella rubs at Erin’s back. “Maybe. But what’s done is done. You shouldn’t dwell on it. We have another game in less than three days.” Ella advises.

“I know.” Erin pulls away from Ella. “And thank you.” She leans in for a quick kiss.

“Anytime.” Ella smiles. She’s happy to be there for Erin. She’ll do whatever she needs to help Erin.

“Our time was short but it’s always worth it- with you.” Erin tells Ella. Ella nods, not sure what to say. Erin kisses her once more. “Goodnight, beautiful.” She says with a half-smile.

“Goodnight, Erin.” Ella replies.

Erin turns and goes back to her room.

Ella waits a moment before grabbing her ice bucket and returning to her own hotel room. She set the ice bucket back by the tv and gets into the bed as quietly as possible. She foregoes reading, knowing that she will be able to sleep now, having the peace of mind that Erin is alright.


	12. Chapter 12

The team is sitting around the tables after breakfast when the assistant coach stands up and asks for silence. Everyone looks over at her. She lifts a piece of paper in the air. “Here’s what we’re gonna do. You all have roommates now but we are gonna change that up for our travels to Portland. I have the list of new roommates for when we get to the hotel in Portland. You will also be sitting with your new roommate on the bus.”

A number of players on the team groans. It’s been discussed before and nobody likes the sound of sitting on a bus for three plus hours.

Erin sits there patiently. She doesn’t mind bus rides really. It gives her a chance to put her headphones on and focus, meditate. She thinks that after last night’s game that’s exactly what she needs to do right now.

“Alright. Alright.” The group quiets again. “Do you want me to read off the names or I can set the list down and you ladies can come look for yourselves. You know what, never mind. I’ll just read them. First, we have Dri with Taryn. Next, Erin and Ella.”

“That’s not fair.” Dri blurts out, looking across the table at Erin. Erin narrows her eyes at Dri and kicks her shin under the table. “Ow.” Dri leans down and rubs at her shin.

The assistant coach pauses and looks over at Dri. Everyone else does too. “May I ask why you don’t think that’s fair?”

Dri eyes Erin. Erin is giving her a look that says she’s dead if she gives a reason. “No. I was talking about something else. Something on my phone.” Dri picks up her phone off the table and wiggles it in the air.

The coach frowns. “Get off your phone and pay attention.” She scolds.

“Sorry.” Dri apologizes to the team. She looks over to Erin as the assistant goes on with the rest of the roommate assignments. Erin is shooting her dagger with her eyes. Dri looks away after a few seconds of intensity from Erin. She looks at everyone else at the table to see what their reactions are to her little outburst. Well, the ones she can see. The only person that is still focuses on Dri is Taryn. Taryn smirks at Dri with a knowing look. Dri wishes she could see Ella’s reaction but she sits on the opposite end of the table from her, on the same side. She focuses back on Erin across from her but Erin isn’t bothered with Dri anymore. Erin has her focus on her phone now, texting. Dri knows exactly who Erin is texting.

* * *

 

After breakfast, and everyone has gathered their belongings, the team boards the bus that will take them to Portland. Erin takes a window seat and Ella sits next to her on the aisle about halfway through the rows of seats. Erin gets out her headphones and puts them on right away and starts her meditation routine.

Ella might not be able to sleep on planes but she can on buses. She closes her eyes and takes a nap at the beginning of their trip to Portland. When she wakes up she looks over at her seat partner.

Erin has her computer out and is working on a new project. “Hey, sleepyhead.” Erin says when she feels Ella’s eyes on her.

Ella smiles and yawns. “What are you working on?” She asks, leaning over in her seat to try and get a peek at the computer screen.

Erin tilts the computer away from Ella. “It’s a secret.”

“Please? Let me see.” Ella pouts.

“Nope. Not happening. That might work for other people but it’s not gonna work on me. So stop pouting.” Erin shakes her head.

Ella smiles. She leans into Erin’s side, bringing her hand up to the side of Erin’s face and whispering in her ear. “You’re a liar. It’s worked before.” Ella can think of a few situations that include pouting, a bedroom, and kisses.

Erin tilts her head away from Ella. “Whatever.” She says ending the discussion. She goes back to her computer and working on her designs. Ella moves on to poke at the person across the aisle from her, which happens to be Taylor. She’s got a goalkeeper to her left and a goalkeeper to her right. Ella moves on from Erin to bother Taylor for a while.

* * *

 

Erin puts the key card in the door and opens it. Ella follows her into the room. Erin surveys the room, throwing her bag on one of the two beds. “What do you think?” She spins around and asks Ella.

“What do you mean?” Ella questions.

Erin reaches for Ella’s bag. She takes it and throws it on the bed, next to her own bag. “I mean-“ Erin steps up to Ella and puts her hands on Ella’s hips. “-this room.” Erin leans in for a kiss. “I think-“ She kisses Ella again “-it has-“ Another kiss. “-one too many beds.”

Ella giggles awkwardly. “That’s the first thing you thought when you came into the room?” She asks.

Erin shrugs. “More or less.”

“What else are you thinking?” Ella asks. She knows there’s more.

“That even though Dri almost blew our cover, I’m glad that we are roommates for the next three days.” Erin says before kissing Ella again. “We have so much free time too. Except for a meeting after dinner we have the rest of today. Minus practice tomorrow the whole day. And the day after that up until we have to get ready for the game. What should we do?”

“Well, I’ve heard Portland is a pretty cool city. It might be a good place for a date.” Ella shrugs.

Erin gasps dramatically. “Ella Masar, are you asking me out on a date?” She bounces up and down on her toes excitedly.

“Yeah.” Ella says timidly.

“I’d love you to.” Erin kisses her, hard. Erin back Ella up to the bed until her legs hit the edge and give out. The kiss is broken as Ella sits on the bed. She looks up at Erin and bites her lip. Erin looks down at Ella hungrily. She pushes against Ella’s shoulder so that she falls back onto the mattress. Erin puts a knee on the bed and goes to hover over Ella.

There’s a knock on the door.

Erin groans. She stands up and wipes her hand over her face. “Stay here.” She tells Ella.

Erin goes to the door and looks through the peep hole. “What does Leslie want?” Erin complains. She’s really not appreciating the interruption. Erin opens the door with a smile, nonetheless. “What can I do for you?”

“Oh, hi Erin. I was actually looking for Ella.” Leslie tells her.

“Oh.”

Ella hears her name and goes to the door. She puts her left hand on Erin’s back, standing next to her. “What’s up?” She asks with a smile, her fingers dancing across Erin’s back. Erin shifts in her spot, the door to her left, and Ella to her right.

“We are pushing the meeting up to four o’clock. Some of the girls want to go out to dinner and then ‘go out’ right away afterwards instead of having the meeting after dinner.” Leslie tells Ella.

“What about me?” Erin squawks.

Leslie shrugs. “I don’t know. The goalkeepers are having a separate meeting. You better talk to Taylor and Trae. I don’t know if it’s at the same time or if it’s being moved up.” Leslie says.

“Okay, thanks.” Ella says. She steps back into the hotel room.

“Thanks.” Erin says and shuts the door.

“This sucks.” Erin whines.

Ella looks at her watch. Four o’clock is in fifteen minutes. She goes over to Erin and slips her arms around her waist for a hug. Erin wraps one arm around Ella’s shoulder, lazily. “You better go find out what’s going on.” Ella whispers.

“Yeah.” Erin nods. “I’ll see you after your meeting.” Erin kisses Ella’s temple.

Ella steps away from Erin. “Yep. Maybe we can plan something this evening.” Ella winks.

Erin smirks. She grabs her phone and looks at it. She sees a message from Taylor. “Huh, I should have just looked at my phone.” It was on silent so she didn’t know she had a message. “I gotta go.”

“Get outta here, McLeod.” Ella laughs. She goes over to her bag and starts taking a few things out. She hears the hotel room door close behind her, knowing that Erin is gone. Ella stops and sits down on the empty bed. She can’t believe she gets to room with Erin. The rest of this trip won’t be so bad after all. Ella takes a few minutes to collect herself before heading down to the lobby for her meeting.

* * *

 

Ella goes back to her hotel room. Erin’s not back yet but Ella changes her clothes. The whole team is going out to dinner at a new restaurant that just opened. She puts on her black skinny jeans and grey top. She takes her hair down out of her bun and puts some curl into it. Ella’s just coming out of the bathroom when the hotel room door opens.

“Well, hello.” Erin grins when she sees that Ella is all dressed up. “For me?” Erin raises her eyebrows and openly looks Ella up and down.

“NO.” Ella rolls her eyes. “Someone’s full of themselves.” She walks away from Erin, over to her bag to put her things away.

Erin smirks and follows Ella. She comes up behind her and wraps her arms around Ella from behind. With Ella’s hair pushes to one side Erin presses her lips to her neck. “Erin, you’re gonna be late for dinner.”

“I don’t wanna go. Stay here with me.” Erin mumbles.

“We can’t.” Ella says. She knows they have to go to dinner. They have to do these team activities. They can’t just hide out in the hotel room. Other than it looking suspicious, it’s rude to their teammates.

Erin groans, nuzzling her cheek into the back of Ella’s neck. She squeezes her arms tighter around Ella. “Why?”

“Someone clingy today. What’s gotten into you?” Ella tries to shrug Erin off of her back.

Erin leans further into Ella and shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know.” She knows. Erin just wants to be close to Ella. It’s doesn’t matter in what why. The last couple of days with the travel and the loss last night that feeling has only increased. Ella has become a comfort for her. Especially away from home.

Ella leans a hand on the bed, bent over awkwardly. “Well, you’re gonna knock me over. Stop it.” Erin frowns but takes a step back. “Get changed. Your gonna be late for dinner.” Ella scolds.

“Can’t I wear this?” Erin holds her hands out to her sides.

Ella spins around and takes in what Erin is wearing. Athletic shorts and a red Canada t-shirt. “No. Change. Now.” Ella points to the bathroom.

“Someone’s bossy today.”

“I just don’t want you to be late. Go change. I’m gonna head down to the lobby so you don’t get distracted.” Ella smirks.

Erin turns it around on Ella. “Soooo, you admit you’re a distraction?” Erin raises an eyebrow at Ella.

Ella takes a step forward, closing the distance between them. “To you.” She leans in and kisses Erin on the cheek. “Definitely.” She smiles. “I’ll see you downstairs.” She walks past Erin, smacking her on the butt as she goes.

Erin stands in her spot with a cocky smirk on her face until after the hotel room door closes before she starts getting changed for dinner.

* * *

 

The team dinner went well and they went out for drinks afterwards. Nothing too exciting. But the group talks and laughs through the hall of the hotel as they get back to their rooms. Ella stops at her door. “Goodnight girls.” She calls out.

Erin comes up behind Ella and puts her hands on each of Ella’s shoulders. “Open the door, already.” Erin whispers in her ear. Ella fumbles with the key card as the rest of the girls say their goodnights. Ella manages to get the door open after a few seconds and Erin literally pushes her into the hotel room.

Ella stumbles but catches herself before she falls. “Erin.” She scolds, turning around to look at Erin.

“What?” Erin stands there with an innocent smile.

“Seriously?” Ella throws her hands up in the air. She seriously wonders what is up with Erin today. Ella is happy that she gets to room with Erin but Erin seems to be in the weirdest of moods. “What’s up with you?” Ella asks for the second time today.

Erin shrugs. “I- I’m just excited we get to room together.”

“You have a weird way of showing it.” Ella turns to her bag and gets her pajamas out. “I’m gonna change and then you wanna watch a movie or something.”

“Or something.” Erin licks her lips. “When are we going on our date?” Erin asks, changing the subject. She goes over to stand next to Ella at her bag and get her pajamas out.

“Tomorrow.” Ella shrugs and pulls her shirt over her head. “Turn around.” Ella tells Erin. Erin scrunches up her face. “Just do it. Okay?”

Erin nods and turns her back to Ella. Ella takes her bra off and pulls a t-shirt over her head. “Okay.” She says when she’s finished. Erin turns back around and sees that Ella has a different shirt on, her former shirt and bra discarded on the bed. Ella takes off her skinny jeans and puts on a pair of training shorts. “Your turn.” Ella looks over to Erin, whose just standing there.

“Yeah.” Erin comes out of her slight stupor. She’s seen Ella change dozens of times in the locker room but this, right here, is different somehow. It’s takes Erin by surprise. She feels different about it all of a sudden. This is no locker room. It’s not even like she saw anything but she thinks maybe it’s because Ella’s was taking off street clothes and not a uniform or workout gear.

Ella snaps her fingers in front of Erin’s face. “Erin.”

Erin shakes her head. “Yeah. Yeah.” Erin gets her clothes from her bag. She thinks about changing in front of Ella but it seems just a bit too intimate. She can’t do it. Erin goes to the bathroom with her clothes to change.

When she comes back Ella is in bed, sitting up, with her back to the headboard, the tv on and the remote in her hand. When Ella looks over at Erin they lock eyes. Ella pats the spot on the bed next to her. Erin smiles, deposits her clothes at her bag, and climbs into bed next to Ella.

“What movie do you want to watch? There are a couple on tv.” Ella hits the guide button on the remote.

Erin looks over at Ella next to her. “I’d rather watch you.”

Ella looks away from the tv to Erin. “Really? That’s super corny.” But she smiles anyway, smitten.

Erin nods. “I don’t want to watch a movie. You know what I want to do?” Erin asks. Ella looks at her curiously, waiting for an answer. She reaches for the remote. She takes it from Ella’s hand and turns off the tv. Erin sets it on the bedside table and takes Ella’s hand. “I want to lay here with you as you tell me what we are gonna do on our date tomorrow.”

“Who says I’m gonna tell you want we’re doing?” Ella smirks.

“Oh, come on. Please?” Erin pouts.

“I don’t know what we are gonna do yet so I can’t tell you.” Ella stick her tongue out.

Erin groans. She’s really looking forward to their date. She wants to know what’s going to happen but she’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out.

“Alright. Fine.” Erin huffs. She lets go of Ella’s hand and slides down in bed until she’s laying on her back. Erin looks up at Ella. “Care to join me?” She smirks.

Ella chuckles but joins Erin. She scoots down and turns onto her side so she can see Erin better. “How’s that?” She smiles, resting her hand on Erin’s stomach.

“Perfect.” Erin leans over for a kiss and Ella meets her halfway. Erin hums into the kiss. She flicks her tongue out to lick Ella’s lips. Ella smiles into the kiss and allowing Erin’s tongue access it’s looking for.

Erin’s hand works its way under Ella’s shirt, her fingertips tracing over her abs. Ella hums into their kisses. Erin finger’s work higher and higher towards Ella’s chest. She knows full well that Ella isn’t wearing a bra. It’s the perfect opportunity. A little bolt of excitement runs through Erin like a giddy teenager. Erin slide her hand over Ella’s breast, palming it, causing Ella to arch forward into Erin’s hand and moan into their kiss. Ella kisses Erin hard, biting her lip. When Erin’s thumb stroke over a nipple Ella breaks their kiss, gasping for air. Erin attaches her lips to Ella’s neck, kissing the sensitive skin there.

“Someone’s frisky today.” Ella says between breathes of air. Erin squeezes her breast in response and hums into the kisses on Ella’s neck.

“Oh my god.” Ella moans. “Erin.” She gathers some sense about herself and rolls away from Erin onto her back.

Erin licks her lips and looks over at Ella. Erin rolls over onto her side. She puts her hand on Ella stomach, over her shirt. “What’s wrong?” She bites her lip. Ella stopped them rather abruptly and it worries Erin.

“Nothing.” Ella breathes out. She laces her fingers with Erin’s on her stomach. “Absolutely nothing.”

“Then when-?” Erin is confused.

“Erin. Where are we?”

“A hotel room. In Portland.” Erin answers the question.

“And why are we here?” Ella asks.

Erin sighs. She sees what Ella is getting at. “This is extremely frustrating.” She grumbles.

Ella giggles. “I know.” She lifts Erin’s hand to her lips and kisses the back of it. “But, I don’t want to get too carried away.”

“Yeah.” Erin agrees. She knows that they need to cool it. They need to be on their best behavior the rest of the night. Erin knows that. She doesn’t necessarily like it, but she knows it. “We should set some ground rules.”

“For what?” Ella asks.

“For like around the team and stuff. For when we are _at work_.” Erin says.

“Good idea.”

“That means we keep things strictly professional around the coaching staff.” Erin starts with.

“What about the girls?” Ella asks.

“What do you think?” Erin wants Ella’s opinion on that one. She doesn’t want to do anything that Ella isn’t okay with.

Ella thinks about it for a minute. She’s not ready to come out and tell anyone that they are dating. Ella is comfortable with that fact though. That they are dating. “If someone asks or whatever, it’s fine. I’m not gonna go around telling people though.”

Erin smiles. “I didn’t think so. But, hey, whatever you’re comfortable with. When we are hanging out with the girls or are doing team bonding I’ll just follow your lead.”

“Perfect.” Ella licks her lips. “Just like you.” Erin blushes and tucks her chin to her chest. Ella smiles and tugs on Erin’s hand. “Come here you big goofball.” She pulls Erin onto her chest. Erin rests her head on Ella’s shoulder and Ella kisses the top of her head. “Let’s get some rest. We have a big day tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait.” Erin smiles and kisses Ella’s collarbone. “Goodnight, beautiful.”

Ella sighs. “Goodnight.”

* * *

 

The team starts the day off with breakfast and then they head over to the practice field for practice. Practice runs and hour and a half and then the players are free to go for the rest of the day. They just have to check in back at the hotel by ten that night.

Ella hops in the shower when they get back to the hotel. She showers quickly and does her hair. Erin is doing her meditating thing when she gets out of the shower. Ella goes about her business as quietly as possible as to not disturb Erin. But she hears a huff from the woman after a few seconds.

“Sorry.” Ella apologizes.

“It’s not you. It’s me.” Erin pushes herself off the bed. “I’m gonna shower quick. You got a plan yet for what we are doing today?” Erin rummages through her bag for some clean clothes to wear.

“I gotta figure that out. Go shower.” Ella tells her.

Erin nods and walks to the bathroom. As soon as Ella hears the door shut she gets out her laptop and starts searching for things to do in Portland. It doesn’t take her long at all to find the perfect thing to do with Erin. She smiles happily as she writes down a few things on a piece of paper and pockets it.

* * *

 

“Can you tell me what we’re doing now?” Erin bounces up and down excitedly next to Ella.

Ella laughs. “You’ll see. I think you’ll like it.” Ella grins at her.

“Oh, come on.” Erin whines.

“Nope. I’m not telling you. Follow me.” Ella smiles and bites her bottom lip. She’s excited about this too.

Ella leads them through Portland on foot and by bus. Erin for the most part doesn’t ask where they are going. But when they are sitting on the bus her leg bounces with excitement. Ella reaches out and put a hand on her thigh. Erin stops bounces and looks over at Ella with a question in her eyes. Ella smiles and squeezes Erin’s leg. Her hand remains there for the remainder of the bus ride.

They get off the bus in the Alberta Arts District. Erin’s face lights up when she realizes where they are. “Ella, this is- this-“ Erin doesn’t know what to say. She’s heard of the art district in Portland before.

“Have you ever been here?” Ella asks.

Erin shakes her head. “This is so cool. Oh my god, you are amazing.” She would totally kiss Ella if they weren’t in public.

Ella shrugs. “Let’s go explore.” Ella is extremely happy with the destination of their date. It took a little bit on her part to figure out the travel but she wrote down what she needed to know and that was about it. She knew it would be the perfect place to take Erin when she saw it on the internet. And the look on Erin’s face is totally worth it. She loves that smiles and Ella will do whatever to see it over and over again.

They visit a couple of art galleries and do some shopping. It surprises Ella a little at how much Erin likes shopping and looking at things. Ella isn’t a patient enough person to go window shopping. She just wants to get in, get what she needs, and get out most of the time when she shops. But she likes watching Erin looks at everything that she finds interesting. It gives Ella a little more knowledge about the sorts of things Erin likes and doesn’t like. From clothes, to jewelry, to knick-knack, and even art Ella gets a better sense of Erin’s tastes. Ella spent most of the afternoon watching Erin as she looked at pieces of art. This date was like a whole new world for her. She opened up a part of Erin that she has never seen before and it fascinates her and she just wants to learn more and more about Erin.

“I’m hungry.” Erin says after they walk around all afternoon.

Ella laughs. “Of course you are. What would you like to eat?”

“I saw a really cool looking restaurant a few blocks back.” Erin suggests.

“Okay. Lead the way, my lady.” Ella gestures with her hand for Erin to start them on their way.

Erin smiles over at Ella. She feels so lucky right now. To be having an amazing afternoon with a wonderful woman. It sort of blows Erin’s mind. A couple of months ago she didn’t think this was a possibility. A couple of weeks ago she still wasn’t sure. It’s almost like something from a crazy dream were she’ll wake up and it won’t be real. She’s also proud. Erin is proud of Ella for the progress that she’s made recently. It’s hard for Erin not to push when some days that’s all she wants to do. But she has been patient and things have turned out, so far, better than she could have imagined.

Erin leads Ella to the restaurant and they go in. “How’s this?” Erin checks with Ella.

“Good.” Ella smiles. She looks around the entryway of the restaurant. It’s dimly lit and has a hipster sort of vibe. She likes it and takes the lead. Ella walks up to the maître d’, holding out two fingers. “For two, please.”

* * *

 

They get back on the city bus to head back to the hotel after dinner. Erin sits by the window and Ella sits next to her by the aisle. The bus starts up and Erin slouches down in her seat. She leans over and puts her head on Ella’s shoulder. “Thank you for today.” She whispers.

“You’re very welcome.” Ella smiles, side eyeing Erin. “Did you have fun?”

Erin nods against Ella’s shoulder. “Yes, but I’m tired now.” She says in a small voice.

Ella laughs. “Good thing we are going back to the hotel then.” She pats at Erin’s leg.

They ride in silence for the rest of the bus ride. It takes about twenty minutes to get back to the hotel.

Ella knows Erin is tired. “You wanna head up to the room. I’ll do the check-in. Let ‘em know we’re back. Safe and sound.”

“Sure. Thanks.” Erin says. They head up to their floor and Erin goes straight to the room. Ella heads to the assistant coach’s room and checks in before going back to the room.

Erin is already changed and in bed when she gets there. Ella goes to the bathroom and changes out of her clothes quickly. She settles into bed next to Erin. “Want to watch a movie?” Erin asks.

“Oh, so now you want to watch a movie. Yesterday you didn’t want to have anything to do with it.” Ella huffs.

Erin shrugs. “Yesterday was different. And I’m tired.”

Ella rolls her eyes. “You’re kinda grouchy when you’re tired.”

“I am not.” Erin doesn’t like being called a grouch. She doesn’t think she’s grouchy, ever.

“It’s kinda like when you first wake up in the morning.” Ella giggles.

“Shut up.” Erin huffs and turns a movie on, not letting Ella have a say in what they watch.

Ella’s fine with that. She settles into Erin’s side, presses a kiss to her cheek, and focuses on the movie.

Erin rubs Ella’s back as they lay there. She can’t stop thinking about her day, their day, their date. “Today was perfect. By the way.” Erin smiles.

“I’m glad you thought so.”

“That was the best date I’ve ever been on.” Erin tells her.

“Really?” Ella can’t believe that’s true. She thinks there has to be someone that has taken Erin McLeod on a better date than that in her thirty years on this earth.

“Yep. Really.” Erin kisses the side of Ella’s head. “And this is the perfect way to end the day.” Erin squeezes her arm around Ella. “Laying here, relaxed, with the most beautiful girl in the world.”

“Erin. Stop.” Ella blushes a little.

Erin simply kisses Ella’s head again. Ella cuddles to Erin’s chest, getting as close as possible. It’s not long before Erin falls asleep. “Goodnight, Erin.” Ella whispers. She turns off the tv and follows Erin into sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

Ella makes plan for her and Erin to meet Alyse to explore downtown Portland during the morning.

Ella texts Alyse to meet them down in the lobby at nine am. She figures that will give them plenty of time to explore and eat and get back to the hotel before the game. Ella gets a text back a few seconds later. **Ok. I’m bringing the germans along tho.** Ella reads the text and smiles. It’s totally like Alyse to bring along other people to lunch with them. It’s fine with Ella. The more the merrier. As long as she gets a little time with Erin after lunch.

Ella and Erin meet Alyse, Inka, and Sonja in the lobby and they all walk downtown.

After exploring as a group for a couple of hours they split into two groups for lunch. Ella and Erin gets some tacos from a taco truck and find a park bench across the way to sit down and eat.

* * *

 

“Can you believe that lady came over and basically stole one of our tacos?” Erin asks quietly.

“My taco. To be correct.” Ella clarifies. “And no. That was crazy.” They clean up their garbage and throw it in a trash can.

“Props to you though. You handled the situation very well. I know I wouldn’t have been about to do that. I don’t share food with people.” Erin says.

“True.” Ella laughs. In the time that she’s known Erin, she hasn’t known her to share food with anyone. They start back for the hotel. They have to start getting ready for the game.

* * *

 

The team goes back to the hotel after the game. It’s late and everyone is tired. The game ended in a tie. One point is good but three would have been better. The team is disappointed they didn’t get the three points.

Ella slides the key card into the door, pushes the door open, and throws her bag down on the floor at the end of the _unused_ bed. She flops down, face first, onto the other bed with a groan. She knows she won’t be able to sleep right away even if that’s all she wants. She’s tired even if she only played 59 minutes.

Erin told Ella when they were on the bus back to the hotel that she had something to do before she would be in the room. Ella didn’t question her about it. She figured Erin would tell her if it was something important or something that involved her. Ella’s getting better around Erin at letting things be if they don’t pertain to her.

Ella lays face down on the bed for a solid two minutes before she gets up to search for the book she has in her bag. If she reads a little, Ella figures she will be able to get to sleep quicker. Ella hears the door open and gives up on her search for her book.

“Why’s it so hot in here?” Erin asks as she enters the room.

Ella spins around to see Erin coming towards her. “I don’t know.” She did notice that it was a little warm in the room when she entered but Ella didn’t think too much of it. Erin’s always running hot anyways.

Erin goes over to the ac/heat unit right away and turns the temperature down. “There.” She goes back to the bed and throws her soccer bag on top of it. Erin opens her overnight bag and get a pair of shorts out. She turns her head to the side as she’s looking for a hairbrush. Erin can feel Ella’s eyes on her. “What?”

Ella shrugs. “How’s your face?” She’s been wanting to asks Erin about it since it happened. But they made those rules and Ella doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it but she’s concerned.

Erin stops her search for her hairbrush. She goes and sits down on the edge of the bed. “Come here.” Erin pats at her thighs. Ella shuffles over and Erin pulls her down to sit sideways on her lap. “Are you worried about me?” Erin asks, wrapping her arms around Ella’s waist.

Ella nods. “That shot Tobin took halfway through the first half-“ Ella trails off.

“It hit me in the face.” Erin finishes. “How does my face look? Not too much damage, I hope. How my gonna get all the ladies if my kisser’s all messed up.” Erin jokes.

Ella smacks her on the arm. “Stop it.” She complains. “I’m not joking.”

“I know.” Erin eases. She rubs her hands up and down Ella’s back. “I’m fine. Big, bad, goalkeeper, remember.” Ella rolls her eyes and Erin smiles. “But you’re worried. And I’m fine. I promise. You coulda asked me about it before now though.”

“I just- I didn’t know what to say. We made those rules and stuff. To be professional.” Ella mumbles quietly.

“Hey, Erin. How’s the face? That’s what you coulda said. It’s okay, Ella. As long as you don’t make some big scene I think anything’s alright. Like a teammate would ask, just think of me as another teammate when we are out on the pitch. Because I am.” Erin instructs.

“Okay.” Ella nods. It all seems very silly now that she thinks about it. She could have asked Erin after the game or on the bus on the way back to the hotel. She doesn’t know what she was thinking. Overthinking, mostly.

“Okay.” Erin seals their conversation with a kiss. Ella sighs, relieved. “You didn’t think I was gonna let Tobin Heath prevent me from doing this.” Erin kisses Ella again.

“You’re such a dork.” Ella giggles after the kiss and gets off of Erin’s lap.

“Yeah, well.” Erin gets up and goes back to her bag to find her hairbrush. “Why is it so hot in here?” Erin wonders out loud. She checks the ac/heat unit again. It’s blowing cool air. Erin just thinks the room is abnormally warm. “How am I gonna sleep?”

Ella raises an eyebrow. “I might have a solution.”

“And what would that be Miss Masar?” Erin puts her hands on her hips. “I’m not taking an ice bath, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Erin warns her.

“No.” Ella pulls her t-shirt over her head and throws it on the bed. She nods at Erin. “You too.” She smirks.

“You’re naughty.” Erin grins but lifts her shirt over her head. “Now what?”

“Uh-“ Ella hadn’t thought her plan through after that point. “We go to bed.” She shrugs.

Erin furrows her brow. “That’s it. Just take my shirt off.”

“Well, if you wanted to take more off-“ Ella looks away from Erin.

“My goodness.” Erin steps forward. She pulls her hair out of its ponytail, foregoing the hairbrush. “I see you’re wearing shorts. I think I’ll do the same.”

Ella looks back to Erin. Her eyes venturing up and down Erin’s body. “Okay.”

Erin slowly pulls her pants down and watches as Ella watches her. She steps out of her sweatpants and reaches into her bag and pulls out a pair of shorts. Her eyes never leave Ella’s. Erin sees Ella lick her lips as Erin bends over and steps into her shorts before pulling them up her legs. Erin feels even warmer than before even with less clothes on. She doesn’t know how much longer she can take this building sexual tension between them.

“Alright. Bed.” Erin steps past a stunned Ella, folds the blankets back on the bed and gets in.

“Bed.” Ella mumbles and follows Erin’s movements. Erin lays on her side in her sports bra and shorts. Ella mirrors her position.

“So.” Erin props her head up with her hand and look over at Ella. “Crazy game, eh?”

“Yeah.” Ella nods.

“Do you want to talk about it or not?” Erin asks.

“Can we not? Ella asks.

“Definitely. But you’ll have to think of something else to talk about for a little while.” Erin grins. Ella smiles back. She can do that. “Or we could just-“ Erin shrugs. “-sleep.”

“I can’t sleep after games.” Ella tells her.

“Ah, something new. I did not know that.” Erin reaches out and tucks some stray hairs behind Ella’s ear. “Well, tell me a story then. When you were little. When you and your siblings got into trouble.” Erin asks.

Ella smiles. She has plenty of those stories. She starts on one of her favorites when all four of them got into trouble. Ella doesn’t even make it through the whole story before she falls asleep. Erin lays there just watching her. She strokes her finger gently over Ella’s cheek. “Goodnight, beautiful.” Erin rolls over and turns off the light before rolling back to face Ella again. It has cooled down in the room some but it’s not cool enough for Erin to snuggle up with Ella just yet.

* * *

 

Ella wakes up in the morning with Erin sprawled on top of her. The blankets are around their waists. Erin lays half on top of Ella on an angle, covering her with her upper body. Her head on Ella’s opposite shoulder, her arms up by Ella’s head.

Ella smiles. She rubs her hands up and down Erin’s shirtless back. “Erin.” Ella whisper. “It’s time to get up.” Her palms rub over Erin’s arms as far as they can reach before returning to her back.

Erin mumbles something unintelligible. Ella giggles. “Erin.” She says a little louder.

Just then there’s a knock on the door. The coaches always go around knocking on the door’s the morning after a game. They need everybody up. Everyone needs to eat and they need to get on the plane. Routine.

Erin jostles against Ella a little at the loud knock. “Time to get up.” Ella says.

“Don’t want to. You’re so comfy.” Erin whines.

Ella giggles. She’ll never get over grumpy, sleepy, cute morning Erin. Ella kisses the top of her head. “We have to go home. Don’t you want to see Max. I know I do.” Ella entices Erin to get up.

Erin lifts her head up off of Ella’s chest. “You and Max are so cute together.” She tells Ella.

“Can you blame us?” Ella shrugs.

“No.” Erin puts her head back down. “You’re both very cute by yourselves. Put together. Bam. Like quadruple cute.”

Ella laughs. “You’re pretty cute yourself right now.”

Erin looks up again and raises an eyebrow at Ella. “Yeah?” She asks.

“Most definitely.” Ella kisses her. “Now get up.” She smacks Erin’s ass.

“How rude?” Erin frowns.

“Shut up.” Ella bites her lip. “Let’s go. Get up.”

Erin groans but pushes herself up so that she’s on her hands and knees hovering over Ella. “Good morning.” She leans in for another kiss.

“It is.” Ella says. Erin grins down at her. “I’m hungry. Let’s go.” Ella grabs Erin’s side. Erin squirms a little. “Are you ticklish there?” Ella smirks devilishly.

“No.” Erin shakes her head.

Ella wiggles her fingers against Erin’s side and Erin squirms more and rolls away from Ella, falling onto the space on the bed next to her. Ella gets up and starts getting dressed right away. She looks over her shoulder at Erin and sees Erin watching her. Ella shakes her butt a little and giggles.

There’s another knock on the door. “Ella?” A voice says through the door.

Ella looks over to Erin. She grabs her shirt off the bed and throws it at Erin. “Put that on. I’m getting the door.” Ella walks over to the door, looks through the peep hole to see Jackie standing there, and opens the door. “Morning, Jack.”

Jackie pushes into the room. “You guys ready for breakfast.”

“A hello or good morning would be nice.” Ella says following her back into the room. Jackie looks back to Ella and narrows her eyes.

“So, are you ready for breakfast or not?” Jackie asks, folding her arms over her chest. She looks from Ella over to Erin, who is casually laying on the bed. “Erin, did you even get out of bed yet?” She asks.

Erin looks over at Ella and shrugs. “Nope.” Her eyes wander back to Jackie.

Jackie narrows her eyes at Erin. Something seems off. She takes a look around the room. Nothing seems too out of the ordinary to Jackie. The blinds are closed. The bed to the right is made. There are three bags on the bed and one on the floor at the foot of it with various clothes littered everywhere. Erin is laying in her messy bed. And Ella stands at the foot of the bed next to her. Jackie looks around again.

The bed is made.

“Oh my god.” Jackie squawks. She looks to Erin. Erin just looks at Ella. Jackie’s moves on to Ella. Ella won’t make eye contact with her. “Ella Copple Masar. Is this what I think it is?”

“Ohhh, middle name.” Erin says with a smirk.

Ella shrugs, looking down at the floor. “Maybe.” There’s really no denying it now.

“Oh my god.” Jackie groans. She looks over at Erin again. Erin just shrugs. “We’re going to breakfast?” Jackie grabs Ella by the arm and pulls her towards the door.

“Hey, wait.” Ella protest but doesn’t put up an effort to stop Jackie.

“Bye Jackie.” Erin yells as they exit the room. She knows she shouldn’t laugh but does anyway. That was funny.

* * *

 

They’re in the airport. Erin is sitting by herself in the corner sketching as the team waits to board the plane. Ella goes over to her and sits down next to her. They haven’t really seen each other since before breakfast. Erin takes her headphones off her ears. “So, what did Jackie say?” It’s the only question Erin has been thinking about since Jackie pulled Ella out of their hotel room.

Ella shrugs. “Mostly that I didn’t tell her. That we’ve been friends for like eight years or something and I didn’t tell.”

“That’s it?” Erin asks.

“Pretty much.” Ella tells Erin. Jackie didn’t talk about much else. She was just irked that Ella didn’t tell her.

“Hmm.” Erin hums. “You wanna sit here with me?”

“Yeah.” Ella looks over and smile.

“Okay. Great.” Erin puts her headphones back on and continues sketching. Ella rests the back of her head against the wall. She tilts it to the left to watch as Erin draws in her sketch book.

* * *

 

Erin sits in the window seat with Ella next to her on the aisle. “You gonna sleep on the way back?” Ella asks.

“I don’t know. Maybe. I plan on meditating first and then maybe do a little reading. After that, I don’t really have a plan.” Erin pulls her headphone out of her bag. “I slept surprisingly well last night.” Erin winks over at Ella.

Ella ducks her head, her cheeks heating up thinking about the night before. “Yeah, me too.” Ella admits. She always sleeps her best when she’s sharing a bed with Erin.

“I can’t wait to get back to Chicago.” Erin says. Many months ago when she arrived in Chicago she didn’t know what the city would offer her during her time there. When she first got to Chicago she was missing someone in a different city. When Erin started in Chicago she could have never imagined everything that has happened in her time there so far. She’s excited about what other possible thing are going to happen in her time in Chicago.

* * *

 

“Thanks for meeting me for dinner.” Ella says.

“Anytime El, but I have one question.” Liza leans over the table. “What’s so urgent?” She whispers.

Ella scrunches up her face. “Nothing’s urgent.” She reaches for her glass and takes a drink of her water. “I just wanted to have dinner with my sister.”

“Ella, it’s a Monday.” Liza sits back in her chair.

“Yeah, so.” Ella had texted her twin sister as soon as the plane landed in Chicago asking to meet with her and hang out, have dinner. She had a few things on her mind and she knew her twin would help her with. It’s working already with Liza asking about the reason for the sudden need to meet.

“Ella, come on. You think I wouldn’t know something was up.” Liza gives Ella a pointed look.

Ella sighs, slumping down in her seat. She’s starting to think this wasn’t a good idea. She sees the waiter coming towards their table with their food and hopes that will be enough of a distraction to get her sister off of her trail.

And it works. The plates of food are set in front of them and Ella digs in right away. She hasn’t had a lot to eat today with the travel and all. Her sister starts eating across from her, slightly calmer, and with more dignity. But after a few minutes of eating in silence Liza picks up the conversation again.

“Tell me what’s going on with you.” She says.

Ella blows out a breath of air. She puts her fork back and looks squarely at her sister. “I’m sorta dating someone.” Ella comes out with it.

Liza tilts her head to the side. That’s the reason they are here. She can’t quite figure Ella out right now. She doesn’t seem nervous but something is slightly off about her. “That’s good news, right? Unless you don’t want to be dating this person anymore or something.”

“Oh, I do.” Ella folds her hands together and puts them on the table.

“Why are you so serious?” Liza asks.

“Because this is important.” Ella tells her.

Liza leans into the table. “You’re not pregnant, are you?” Ella’s cheeks turn bright red. She shakes her head. If it’s not that, then it can’t be that serious. “Okay. Then what is it?” Liza takes another bite of her pasta.

“It’s time that you knew.” Ella shrugs.

“How long have you been dating this mystery person?” Liza asks with a smile.

“Ummm-“ Ella doesn’t really have an answer to that question. “We’ve gone on two dates.”

“What? Two dates. That’s it and you’re telling me about it. That’s a bit quick. No?” Liza puts her cutlery down and focuses on her sister completely.

“No.” Ella shakes her head. “We spend a lot of time together but have only been on two dates.”

“Sorta like friends that started dating?” Liza asks. “Is it someone I know?”

Ella presses her lips together tightly. “No.”

Liza reaches out and puts her hand on top of both of Ella’s. “I understand that this is a big deal but I don’t see why. What am I missing?”

Ella swallows thickly. “It’s one of my teammates.”

“Oh.” Liza says. Then it hits her. “Ohhhh.” She smiles. “You sassy girl. Mixing business with pleasure.”

“Eww. Don’t say that.” Ella makes a disgusted face. “Don’t ever say that again.” Ella chuckles awkwardly.

Liza shrugs it off. “So, who is it?” Everything in their conversation to this point is making a little bit more sense for Liza.

“Erin.” Ella smiles big. “Erin McLeod. She’s our goalkeeper. Well, one of them but she’s the better goalkeeper and I’m not just saying that cuz I like her. She’s so good. And she’s so talented. Not just with soccer. With so many things. I don’t ever know how it’s possible. She paints and draws and writes. She plays piano and sings. She’s got the most amazing voice I’ve ever heard. She’s got so many great qualities. She’s so funny. She makes me smile and laugh every single day. Like she doesn’t even have to do anything particularly funny but I’m laughing at the dorky little things that she does. She’s such a goofy person. Like silly and goofy and funny. And she’s Canadian. Did I tell you that?” Liza shakes her head. “She’s Canadian. How cool is that? And she has the cutest little dog. Max. He’s like my little buddy.” Ella pauses to take a deep breath.

Liza smiles over at her twin. “I’d say you got it bad, girl.” Squeezing her hand.

“Oh, I know.” Ella bites her lip.

“I’m happy for you. It’s really good to see you happy again.” Liza says. “So when do I get to meet her?”

“Really?” Ella can’t help but ask.

“Yeah, really. You dork.” Liza sits back in her chair, folding her arms over her chest.

“Well, after a game. Maybe.” Ella shrugs. “That’s how Seredy met her.”

“Wait. Hold up.” Liza holds hand in the air towards Ella. “You’re first telling me this now and our sister already knows and has met her.”

“It was sort of an accident. And it was sort of an experiment on my part.” Ella looks around nervously. “I didn’t tell her. But, I brought Erin over after a game to meet Ser and the girls. I wanted to see how it would go. She figured it out though. I wanted to see what her reaction was before I went and told anybody else. This isn’t something that’s in my comfort zone. I’ve never dated a woman before. I was just testing the waters, so to speak.”

“Ella, I would never judge you.” Liza finally sees what is off with Ella. Her apprehension, uncertainty. “If she makes you happy. And she takes care of you. And she does right by you. That’s what matters, right?”

Ella needs. “Yeah. And she does. So much so.”

“Then that settles it. Ella, I love you. Thank you for bringing me here tonight and telling me. Though I would’ve like to have been the first to know.” Liza laughs. “Anyway, I wish and hope for all the best for you. No matter how that might happen. I hope you take this new experience in stride and I hope that you can get everything that you deserve.” Liza finishes her little speech.

“Thanks.” Ella smiles over at her sister. She actually feels good telling her sister about her and Erin. And she can’t wait to go home and tell Erin all about it.

* * *

 

It’s after dinner when Ella moseys over to the Canadian’s apartment. She has her guitar with her. Ella pushes the door open and Max greets her. “Hello, Maxwell.” He jumps up excited to see her. She smiles at his cuteness before walking by him to the other cuteness in the room. Erin stands at the counter wearing an apron. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, I’m just cleaning up from dinner.” Erin wipes the counter with a wet dish rag.

Ella stands next to Erin. She reaches out and tugs at the edge of Erin’s apron. “I like this look.” She jokes.

“Hey, don’t make fun.” Erin points a finger at Ella. “Aprons serve a purpose.” Erin finishes wiping off the counter and lays the rag over the faucet to dry. “What’s up with the guitar?” Erin nods at the instrument in Ella’s hand.

“I don’t know. I thought I’d just bring it with me. Just in case. Don’t have to use it or anything. Just in case.” Ella says.

“You already said that.” Erin smiles.

“Shut up.” Ella turns around and goes to Erin’s room. “Come on, Max.” She calls the dog to follow her.

“What about me?” Erin says, offended.

“I guess you can come too.” Ella laughs.

Erin takes her apron off, throwing it on the counter and hurries behind Ella into her room and shuts the door. She grabs Ella by the hip and spins her around, pinning her to the door.

“Woah.” Ella says with wide eyes, but smirks up at Erin.

Erin licks her lips before kissing Ella. But before she can get too engrossed Erin hears something. She stops and looks around the room. “Did you hear that?” She asks Ella.

Ella sighs, displeased. “No.”

Erin looks over to Max. He is sitting on his doggy bed, alert, his ears perked high in the sky. He heard it.

“What is it?” Ella asks.

Erin doesn’t say anything. She just waits. After a few seconds, she hears it again. It’s quiet yet. Far away. But Erin knows what she heard. She confirms with a quick check of Max. “Thunder.” Erin whispers. She steps away from Ella and goes over to the window. She looks to the west. The sky is dark, angry.

Ella sets her guitar down by the door and goes over by Erin, wrapping her arms around Erin from behind. “Is the big, mean goalkeeper afraid of thunderstorms?” Ella whispers jokingly into Erin’s ear.

Erin tries to wiggle out of Ella’s grasp but Ella won’t let her go. “No.” Erin spins around to face Ella. She frowns. “I just don’t like them. Max doesn’t either.” Erin adds.

“Well, he’s a dog. A tiny dog. I’m sure it’s scary for him.” Ella look over at Max quickly before returning to Erin. “You on the other hand are a human, an adult human.” Ella raises an eyebrow. “How did I not know this?” She ponders.

Erin shrugs and looks away. She’s not fond of thunderstorms. Mild storms aren’t really a problem for her but in her summer in Chicago there have been a number of nasty, severe thunderstorms with lots of wind, hail, and heavy rain. Being on the third floor of an apartment building doesn’t help either.

Ella rubs her hands up and down Erin’s back. “What can I do?” She wants to laugh and make fun, but Ella can tell that Erin is really uncomfortable.

“Usually, I put my headphones on and turn up the music. I take Max and we get into the bed and cuddle up under the blankets.” It pains Erin to admit. “This is so embarrassing.” Her cheeks even tint a little.

“You know what?” Ella asks and Erin shakes her head. “I’m here. We can totally do that but instead of headphones and music you have me.” Ella grins. She leans up and kisses Erin’s cheek.

It gets increasingly darker in the room the closer the storm gets. The thunder intensifies too. Ella backs them up to the bed until the backs of her leg it the side of the mattress. She lets go of Erin. “Get Max.” Ella tells her.

Erin takes the two steps that are required to reach Max. She scoops him up quickly. Ella turns down the blankets and gets onto the bed. Erin sets Max down on Ella’s lap and gets into bed next to her. The rain starts pounding on the window and Max whines a little. “It’s okay Max. I got you.” Ella tells him.

“What about me?” Erin whispers.

Ella smiles over at her. “I got you too.” Ella turns onto her side, putting Max between her body and Erin’s. She reaches for the blankets and pulls them up to cover all three of them. Erin turns on her side to face Ella. “Better?” Ella asks. Erin nods.

“Tell me a story.” Ella requests. Anything to take Erin’s mind from what’s happening outside.

“About what?” Erin wrinkles up her face.

“Anything.”

“Okay.” Erin thinks for a few seconds. She pulls Max to her chest and starts on a story. Ella scoots closer to Erin, pressing herself to either Erin or Max’s body so there’s no space in between them. It works. It works until the lights go out.

“Ella?” Erin asks in a small voice.

“It’s okay, Erin. “Do you have a flashlight?” Ella asks.

“In-“ A flash of lightning lights up the whole room. “-in the kitchen.”

“I have an idea. I’m gonna go get it. I’ll be right back.” Ella scoots backwards away from Erin but Erin reaches out and wraps her hand around Ella’s wrist, stopping her. “I’ll be right back. I promise.” Ella tells her in a calm voice. Erin releases her grip and Ella gets out of bed. She hurries out of the room, through the dark, into the kitchen. She starts pulling all the drawers open looking for a flashlight. She finds one in the third drawer, grabs it and runs back to Erin’s room. She shuts the door and hurries over to the bed. Ella flicks on the flashlight before pulling the blankets off of Erin.

“Hey.” Erin yelps.

Ella smiles. “Get out of bed.” Ella shines the flashlight at Erin and Max.

“You’re blinding me.” Erin whines.

Ella laughs and turns the flashlight to the space beside the bed, opposite the window. “Get out of bed and get the chair and the desk and put them there.” She points to the spot about five feet from the side of the bed.

“What? Why?” Erin starts getting out of bed, leaving Max standing there watching them.

“Just do it.” Ella starts rearranging the blankets.

Erin does as she’s told and looks to Ella after she’s finished. “Very good.” Ella takes the sheet in her hands and puts one end over the desk and chair. “I need something heavy.” She tells Erin. Erin opens the closet and pulls out her soccer bag. “Good idea.” Ella takes the bag from Erin. “Grab Max.” She instructs.

Erin takes a shivering Max off of the bed and holds him to her chest. There is very loud clap of thunder followed by intense lightning and Erin jumps. Max yips in her arms. Ella situates the sheet over the bed and puts Erin’s soccer bag on top of it to hold it down. Lastly, she grabs the pillows off of the bed. “Okay. Get in.” Ella smiles.

“Really?” Erin raises an eyebrow.

Ella cocks her head to the side. There’s another clap of thunder and Erin nearly dives into the blanket fort with Max. Ella laughs. She takes the pillows and the remaining blanket and climbs underneath the sheets. She puts the pillows down and lays down on the floor. “Come on.” Ella lays on her back and opens her arms for Erin to curl up with her. Erin takes the invitation laying on her side with her head on Ella shoulder. Max sitting on Ella’s stomach. Ella covers them with the blanket.

“How’s this?” Ella brings the flashlight up under her chin and makes a silly face. Erin lifts her head from Ella’s shoulder, looks up and smiles. With the sheet over them, the flashlight illuminating the space, and the bed separating them from the window, the storm doesn’t seem too bad.

“Good.” Erin cuddles into Ella’s side again. Ella holds onto Erin with one arm. The other holds the flashlight as she starts making up a story. Making silly faces and silly voices as she tells her imaginary tale.

The thunderstorm passes after about twenty minutes. The power is still out though and it’s now dark outside. Erin and Max relax as the air quiets. No more thunder. No more lightning. No more rain pounding the window.

“Thank you.” Erin interrupts Ella’s story. She enjoys listening to Ella talk. It’s doesn’t usually matter what she is saying. Erin thinks she could listen to Ella talk all day. Which is good because Ella talks a lot.

Ella turns off the flashlight. “You’re welcome.” She pats Max on the back. He has fallen asleep in the last couple of minutes.

“You’re so good.” Erin whispers and kisses Ella’s neck. “You’re so good to me. To Max.” Erin whispers quietly.

Ella smiles. “That’s cuz I like you guys, a lot.” She presses her lips to Erin’s forehead. “What do you say we take this fort down and get back into bed for the night.”

“Sounds perfect.” Erin doesn’t want anything else. She just wants to be as close to Ella as possible right now. Erin can’t help but think of how great Ella is, not just with the storm, but with so many things. Unspoken sort of things.

Erin takes Max from Ella’s stomach and gets out from under their fort. Ella grabs the pillow and gets up, throwing them on the bed. She takes the sheet down, putting Erin’s soccer bag on the floor, and puts the sheet back on the bed, before putting the blanket back on.

“You mind if I open the window?” Ella asks. “I won’t if you don’t want. It’s just getting stuffy in here.” With the power off the air condition isn’t running.

“Go ahead.” Erin puts Max on his doggy bed and gets into bed herself. She waits for Ella. When Ella gets the window open a cool breezy blows into the room. She goes over to the bed and takes her shirt off. Wearing just her sports bra and shorts to sleep in, Ella gets into bed. She mimics Erin’s position on her side.

Erin wraps Ella in her arms, holding her tight. She kisses Ella’s forehead. “Goodnight, beautiful.” Erin says. She wants to say something different. She wants to say exactly how she feels but she doesn’t know if she should. She doesn’t know how Ella would react and she doesn’t know if Ella is ready for that.


	14. Chapter 14

After morning practice and lunch Ella decided to go for a bike ride. Ella is riding up the block when she sees the cutest dog standing on the sidewalk with the cutest girl she knows.

“Hey, Lance Armstrong.” Erin calls out as Ella approaches.

Ella brings her bike to a halt. “I’m not using performance enhancing drugs.” She takes offense to what Erin said. Ella gets off her bike and reaches down to pet Max.

“Woah. Woah. Woah. That’s not what I meant. I would never suggest- that’s not-“ Erin fumbles with her words. “I just meant that you’re riding a bike.” She sighs in frustration. Erin didn’t think Ella was gonna take it that way. But, she never knows how Ella is going to quite take something she says. Ella throws her for a loop often. Sometimes, it’s like they don’t even speak the same language with the miscommunications that happen.

“Oh.” Ella frowns. She stands up straight again. “Never mind, then.” She smiles. “What are you up to?” Ella thinks she knows but she asks anyway.

“Just taking Max for a walk before dinner. We’re gonna go over to the park. I would ask if you wanted to come but with the bike and all-“ Erin trails off. She’s not sure where she’s going with this.

“I would love to.” Ella bites her lip. “Can I bring my bike upstairs first?”

Erin shrugs. “Sure. We’ll wait here.”

“Okay.” Ella gives her a big smile. “I’ll be right back.” Ella grabs her bike by the frame and carries it up the stairs and into the building. Erin watches as she goes. She sits down on the steps to wait for Ella to return. Max sits on the bottom step and looks around curiously as they wait.

Ella comes back out a few minutes later. “Ready?” She comes down the steps and stands at the bottom facing Erin.

Erin nods and stands up. “Let’s go Max.”

They walk side by side the few blocks to the park as Maxwell leads the way. “It’s a great day for a walk.” Ella comments. It’s a great day for anything really. It’s not overly hot like it can be in her summer in Chicago. There’s a light breeze and there’s not a cloud in the sky. That’s the main reason Ella went for a bike ride. So she could actually enjoy it and not just be hot and sweaty.

“It is.” Erin says with a smile. They get to the park. It’s a Wednesday so it’s not very busy or filled with people. That’s also great.

They start walking around the park. It peaceful. Max trots along in front of them, leading the way. Ella takes in the sights and sounds of the park. The birds chirping happily in the trees, the kids laughing and playing in the open spaces, the adults enjoying their time in the park. She smiles. Ella loves the park. It’s like you can forget you are in the middle of the city and you’re out in nature.

“Shall we sit?” Erin asks as they approach a bench.

“Sure.” Ella smiles over at Erin.

They sit down and Max sits at Erin’s feet. She pats him on the head for being such a good boy. “I really like this park. I’m glad it’s close to where we live. It reminds me of home.” Erin says.

“Really?” Ella questions.

Erin chuckles. “Not really.” She grins at Ella. “No. But, it’s nice to get a little nature here in the city. I don’t think anything’s quite like the Vancouver area though. You have the city but you don’t have to go far to find nature. Heck, sometimes you don’t have to leave the city.”

“Yeah, it’s a cool city.” Ella agrees. Erin squints her eyes at Ella, questioning her words. “What?” Ella asks. “I lived there once. For a few months. A summer.”

Erin knew that. “Oh, yeah.” She just didn’t remember for a minute. “When was that?”

“2007.” Ella says.

“Ah, the year after I played there. Ah, W-League.” Erin says with nostalgia.

“Yeah. I know. I never heard the end of it. Getting back to the Championship game and winning it like the year before. We, sadly, didn’t live up to that team.” Ella grumbles.

Erin laughs. “You’ll never will up to my soccer skills and popularity.” She jokes.

“You’re right about that.” Ella mumbles.

“Hey.” Erin leans into Ella’s side. “I’m just kidding. You’re rather popular now with your show.” Erin gives Ella a goofy grin.

“It’s our show.” Ella’s proud to share the title with someone as great as Erin.

“That’s your brain child. I’m just the fill in. I’m just like an assistant. That’s all you.” Erin tells her.

Ella smiles. “That’s not true. You- we are partners.” The words sound funny to Ella as she says them.

“You kind child. You can say that all you want but that thing will always be you and your doing. You have all the ideas and plans when it comes to that.” Erin gives Ella all the credit. “It’s fun to do. And I enjoy making fun of you for the fans but I’m gonna give you the accolades for that one.”

Ella frowns. “Okay.” She understands where Erin is coming from but doesn’t really agree with her.

“Anyway, this isn’t like Vancouver but it is nice to be in the park. Fresh air and all.” Erin puts her arms across the back of the bench and leans back, pulling in a big breath of fresh air.

“Yeah.” Ella agrees. Her mind is already elsewhere. Thinking about Vancouver and wondering what it’s like now. How it’s different from when she was there in 2007 and how it might be the same. Her mind wanders and wanders on Vancouver. Thinking about how it might be nice to go there again one day to see the place, for a visit.

“You ready to go?” Erin asks after a couple of minutes. “Continue this walk.” Erin sits like she’s ready to get up.

Ella nods and stands. Erin does so as well and they start walking again. They don’t get ten feet from the bench when Max stop to go to the bathroom. “Really buddy? We were just stopped.”

Ella laughs at Erin. “Let him do his business.”

They continue on when Max is done. Ella is walking on Erin’s right side when she stops and goes behind Erin to walk on her left side. She has an idea. “What are you doing?” Erin questions with a goofy expression on her face. Sometimes she can’t figure out what Ella is doing.

“Nothing.” Ella smiles innocently. “Keep walking, McLeod.” She bumps into Erin with her shoulder. They walk on and Ella waits for about a minute before reaching out and taking Erin’s left hand with her right.

Erin looks down at her hand, their hands, and then over at Ella. Ella smiles at Erin. “I just wanted to try it out.” She shrugs.

Erin breaks into a huge smile. She smiles like the lovesick fool that she is. Erin squeezes Ella’s hand in hers. She tries not to make a big deal out of it but it’s a big deal. They walk hand in hand through the rest of the park and all the way back to their building. Erin walks with that happy grin on her face the whole way.

Ella is nervous about holding Erin’s hand in public but she wants to. At least, right now. She wants to see what it feels like. She’s worried about other people that see them holding hands and what they might think or possibly says. Ella holds onto Erin’s hand tight as they walk. No one says anything but Ella does notice them getting a few curious looks as they walk.

Ella let’s go of Erin’s hand at the steps to their apartment building. Erin turns to her, wiping her hand off on her shorts. “Sweaty.” Erin comments and pulls a gross face.

“Sorry.” Ella bites her bottom lip.

“Don’t be. Please, don’t be.” They both know that their grip was on the tight side, causing the sweatiness. “Do you want to come over for dinner?” Erin asks. She doesn’t want to be away from Ella right now, not after what just happened.

“I can’t. I promised T that I’d have dinner with her. Another time?” Ella sighs.

“Sure.” Erin nods sadly.

“I could stop over after dinner for a little bit. But we have early practice tomorrow and I want to be well rested.” Ella’s been focusing on eating better and sleeping more in an attempt that it will improve her play. She hasn’t been getting the minutes she wants or thinks she deserves and knows if she wants more minutes she has to work harder in practice and on her own time. And for that she needs to be well fueled and well rested.

“Okay.” Erin nods. It will have to do. “I’ll see you later.” She reaches out and boops Ella on the nose and then runs away, up the stairs, with Max, while she laughs.

Ella smiles at Erin. Erin is always able to put a smile on her face, no matter what.

* * *

 

The team has early morning practice. Seven am early. After practice, they have group meetings by position. After that, they have weight training where the whole team meets back together in the weight room.

Erin sees Ella over at the bench press towards the end of their team weight session. “Hey, Masar.” She yells across the room.

Everyone looks over at Ella. Some at Erin. Ella ignores Erin and continues her reps on the bench press.

“What are you doing?” Jackie stands next to Erin.

Erin ignores Jackie. “Or should I call you Arnold. Arnold Schwarzenegger.” Erin calls out and then smiles devilishly.

“She’s gonna kill you.” Jackie whispers. She can’t believe what Erin is doing.

Ella finishes her reps and reracks the bar. Ella sits up, breathing heavily. “What?” She scowls over at Erin.

Erin hunches over like a bodybuilder and flexes her muscles. “Are you working to enter a bodybuilder competition?” Erin teases. Some of their teammates laugh.

Ella scrunches up her face and goes over to her water bottle, takes a drink from it, and ignoring Erin’s comments. She’s not sure why Erin is always making fun of her. Ella moves on to her next station and starts lifting.

Erin starts mimicking Ella’s movements, her facial expressions, and the little grunts and breathes she makes.

Ella gets frustrated. She finishes her rips, grabs her water, and stomps out of the weight room.

“You’re in trouble.” Jackie tells Erin.

Erin waves it off. “Nah, I’m good. Just trying to keep her in check. Not let her head get too big.”

Jackie isn’t so sure. “I don’t know.” She’s seen Ella upset and mad before and this seems similar to that. Ella’s go to is to stomp out of a room and want to be left alone for a while so she can calm down. Jackie knows that much. “She seems pretty worked up.”

Erin’s not worried about it though. “It’s fine.”

Jackie eyes Erin curiously. “You guys-“ She not exactly sure what to say. “-you two have a weird relationship.”

Erin just shrugs, thinking that’s probably true.

* * *

 

Erin sends Ella a text at dinnertime. **You wanna come over for dinner.** She sets her phone down on the counter and stirs her latest concoction. Erin likes to experiment with recipes and different foods. And she’s made way too much for just herself to eat.

“Dri.” Erin calls out. “Dinner’s ready.”

Dri pops out of her room and into the kitchen. Erin serves her up a bowl of food. “What is this?” Dri looks into the bowl with a funny face.

Erin shrugs. “It’s like chili but I changed a few things around. Just try it. You’ll like it.”

Dri scoops up a bite and brings it to her mouth slowly. She’s apprehensive about trying new foods after having a bad experience when she was a child. She puts the spoonful in her mouth, tasting, and then swallowing. “It’s good.” She nods and takes her bowl to go sit down.

The apartment door swings open. “Look who it is.” Dri smiles over at Ella.

Ella remains straight-faced. She’s still sour about Erin’s antics at the weight room earlier in the afternoon but she couldn’t resist coming over.

Erin spins around and looks at Ella. The same flat expression that Dri got. Erin frowns, thinking for the first time that maybe she went too far with the teasing. “You want some dinner?” Erin asks.

Ella comes over to the stove. Erin takes that as a sign to get some food for her. She scoops some of her experiment into a bowl for Ella and hands it to her. Ella takes the bowl silently and goes to sit next to Dri to eat. Erin dishes some up for herself and sits on the other side of Dri.

Dri looks to her left at Ella, then to her right at Erin, stuck in the middle. She’s uncomfortable with the silence that has taken over the room. “So, you guys doing another show for the next home game?” Dir breaks the silence.

“Yeah.” Ella says in between bites.

Dri was hoping for more information than that. She feels very awkward between the two. She puts her head down and eats as fast as possible. Dri gets up after a couple minutes after she’s finished her bowl of food. She brings her dishes to the sink. “I’ll be in my room.” She says and hurries off to her room.

“What’s wrong?” Erin asks right away. She hops over one chair so she’s sitting next to Ella.

Ella won’t look at her and just shakes her head and keeps eating slowly. Ella didn’t have a plan when she came over and now that she’s almost done eating she doesn’t know what to do. She doesn’t really want to talk to Erin right now. Ella thinks she’ll probably finish eating and go back to her apartment.

She does just that. Ella finishes and brings her bowl to the sink. She starts across the apartment, to the door, on her way back to her apartment.

“Wait.” Erin calls out.

Ella stops a few feet from the door. Max runs over to the door and stands there waiting for Ella, thinking he’s going to get to go out. Ella stands there waiting for something to happen. When nothing does after a few seconds she continues to the door. Ella hears Erin get out of her chair so Ella stops with her hand on the doorknob and waits.

Erin hurries over to Ella before she leaves. She reaches out and puts both of her hands on Ella’s shoulders from behind. “Ella.”

The blonde spins around to face Erin, shrugging Erin’s hands off of her. “Why do you always make fun of me and make jokes at my expense?”

Erin sighs. “I’m sorry.” She apologizes. Jackie was right. She is in trouble.

“I don’t want an apology, Erin.” Ella says firmly.

Erin scrunches up her face in confusion. “What?”

“I want to know why. I want an answer not an apology.” Ella folds her arms over her chest in a defensive position.

Erin shrugs. “I- I- it’s weird. You’re gonna think it’s weird.”

“Tell me.” Ella demands.

“It’s hard to explain.” Erin puts her hand on Ella’s forearm. “You know how little boys pull little girls pigtails and hair or sometimes push them and stuff like that. You know how little kids make fun of other little kids when they have a crush on?”

Ella narrows her eyes at Erin. “Yeah.”

“It’s like that.” Erin shrugs.

“Sooo- you make fun of me because you have a crush on me?” Ella asks, making sure she has this right.

“Well, that’s how it started out.” Erin admits. “I didn’t know what to do with the crush or the feelings I had and that’s how they came out. At first. Now, I think, with the exception of today- I took that too far. I’ll admit it. Now, I think, it’s something else entirely.”

“What do you mean?” Ella asks.

“Uh-“ Erin looks around awkwardly. “-now it’s more of an affection thing, I think. Or sometimes like a flirting thing.” Erin mumbles, blushing.

Ella smiles. She releases her folded arms, her defensive posture. She puts a hand on Erin’s chest. “You’re so cute.” She coos. Erin ducks her head and bites her lip. Ella steps into Erin, tilting Erin’s chin up with a finger, kissing her sweetly.

“So, you’re not mad at me?” Erin asks sheepishly.

“No. But you were right. You did take it too far today with the mocking.” She pats at Erin’s chest with her hand.

“Okay. Sorry.” Erin frowns. She grabs Ella’s hand that’s on her chest. “Stay with me tonight.” Ella just smiles. Erin starts walking backwards, pulling Ella away from the door.

“We have to talk about our next episode.” Ella mentions as Erin walks backwards towards her room.

“I’m guessing you have something in mind.” Erin raises an eyebrow.

“Well, yeah.” Ella shrugs.

“Come on Max. We’ll go out later.” Erin yells back at Max who is still standing at the door.

“I want to have the girls that haven’t been on the show yet on.” Ella continues their conversation.

“All of them. That’s a lot. We usually only do one or two.” Erin gets to her door and pushes it open before pulling Ella into the room. Max is hot on her heels. Erin shuts the door with her free hand and pushes Ella up against it. “How are we going to do that?” Erin asks.

Ella licks her lips. “I was thinking we could ask them a bunch of questions. Ask them all the same questions. Like about Chicago and our teammates and stuff.”

Erin steps into Ella’s body, putting her hands on her waist. “And where are we gonna do this?”

Ella wraps her arms around Erin’s neck. “There’s that couch in one of the rooms at the office.” Ella supplies.

Erin looks from Ella’s eyes to her lips and back. “And when are we doing this?” Erin asks.

Ella swallows thickly with the look that Erin is giving her. “Tomorrow.” She says.

“Okay.” Erin licks her lips.

“Okay.” Ella repeats.

“I’m gonna kiss you now.” Erin whispers, leaning in.

“Good.” Ella smiles and meets Erin halfway for a kiss.

* * *

 

After a light practice in the morning, Ella gathers all the girls for filming of episode eleven. “Okay. We will take groups of two at a time. The others can stay here and wait. We will be asking you some questions about Chicago and then some about your teammates. Erin and I have compiled a list.” Ella waves the piece of paper in her hand. “Who’s first?”

They ask the girls the questions first and then after that part is finished they go back into the conference room to film the opening and closing segments of the video. Erin, of course, has to tell the epic Portland tale of the lady stealing their tacos. And at the end Ella boasts about Erin’s art skills and her upcoming art show.

“Ya know.” Erin starts as they are walking out of the office. “All you had to say was that I had an art show coming up. You didn’t have to brag me up.” Erin bums her shoulder into Ella’s.

“What can I say? You’re very good. You deserved to be bragged about. The people should know how talented you are. I’m just trying to help ya out.” Ella smiles over at Erin as they walk.

“Yeah. Thanks.” Erin says. She wraps her arms around Ella’s shoulder. “Let’s go home.”

Ella smiles. She likes the sound of that. Home. It’s not like they share the same home though. And it’s just an apartment building where some of her teammates live. But for the last couple of months it’s felt like home. Ella has settled in well there and feel comfortable there. So it’s as close to home as she been without actually being at home living with her mom or her siblings.

* * *

 

“I hate waiting all day to play.” Ella flops down on the couch.

“Go whine somewhere else.” Taryn says to her, joking.

“Like where?” Ella mumbles, throwing her arms in the air dramatically.

“At your girlfriend’s place.” Taryn suggests.

Ella sits up, rigid, and stares across the room at Taryn. “I’m not- we- where did you get that idea?” Ella fumbles through her words. Taryn has just thrown her for a loop.

Taryn laughs. “Come on, Ella. Don’t try and tell me it’s not like that.”

“It’s not.” Ella folds her arms over her chest. “I’m mean- it’s not.” Ella shrugs. “Erin’s not- we’re not.” She sighs frustrated. With herself. With everything. “We’ve been on two dates.” Ella finally says something that’s concrete.

“Really?” Taryn raises an eyebrow at Ella. She thought it would have been so many more.

“Yeah.” Ella bows her head. She doesn’t know where this is going and doesn’t know if she’s comfortable talking about it.

“Oh.” Taryn breathes out. “Well, you guys spend a lot of time together.”

“Yeah.” Ella says awkwardly. She stands up and tugs at her earlobe uncomfortably. “I’m going to my room.” She mumbles.

“Okay.” Taryn watches as Ella shuffles out of the room. She didn’t mean to make Ella uncomfortable. She doesn’t see the big deal with this whole Erin situation. Taryn just wishes they would figure it out already. It’s hasn’t been a long time that this has been going on but there’s definitely something there. She can see it. Anyone who pays any attention can see it.

* * *

 

Ella starts and plays 86 minutes of the game against Seattle. All her hard work during the week has paid off and she feels like she’s being rewarded for it by being able to play so many minutes. It the most minutes she’s played since their June 19th game.

Erin smiles at her as Ella enters the locker room after the game. “Good game, kid.” She says. Erin’s already changed into her street clothes. She didn’t play so she had a jump on everybody else.

“Thanks.” Ella smiles shyly. She tired but feels pretty good about how she played. She hopes it translates to the last three games of the season that they have and she can get some solid minutes. She’s happy that she could go 86 minutes and attributes that to her fitness.

Ella starts changing and Erin leaves the locker room to wait for her ride with her teammates back to the apartment.

* * *

 

The girls all get back to the apartment building and everyone goes to their own rooms to decompress after the game and get ready for bed.

Ella grabs a snack and heads to her room. She’s very pleased with today’s game and with her performance. It gives her confidence that all is not lost. That just because she wasn’t getting very many minutes doesn’t mean she can’t play the game anymore. Today proved that. Ella thinks she just needs to keep working and the results will come.

She sits on the end of the bed and closes her eyes, thinking and eating her granola bar. Thinking about everything that she can control when it comes to soccer, her training, and the game. Then she thinks about what she can’t control, what’s beyond her hands. She starts praying.

Ella hears her phone chime behind her. She tries to ignore the fact that she has a message and continue with her prayers but the temptation gets the best of her. Ella reaches for her phone and sees the message from Erin.

**Are you still up? If so, do you want to come over?** The message reads.

Ella smiles at the message. Or, more so, the sender of the message. **I’m busy right now but give me a few minutes.**

Ella waits for a reply ‘ok’ from Erin before putting her phone down and focusing back on her prayers.

Erin waits by the door for Ella to come over. She’s just returned from walking Max. He’s already in the bedroom in his bed for the night. Erin watches through the peephole and waits. Ella said she’d only be a few minutes and Erin is hoping she is true to that. She doesn’t want to wait by the door forever. But she wants to wait for Ella.

A couple minutes pass and Erin watches the other door across the hall through the peephole like a creep. She sees the door start to open and opens her own apartment door just as Ella exits her apartment. She steps out into the hallway and takes Ella’s wrist in her hand. She tugs and pulls Ella into her apartment.

Erin closes the door and kisses Ella right away. She couldn’t wait any longer. “What were you doing?” She asks after.

Ella smiles. “Praying.”

That takes the wind out of Erin’s sails. She’s a little taken aback. “Oh. Uh- sorry.” Erin wasn’t expecting that answer. She doesn’t know what she was expecting but it wasn’t that. “I didn’t mean to like- interrupt.”

That’s one of the things that gives Erin a little hesitation and trepidation about this thing with Ella. Ella’s religion and her faith. Erin’s not a religious person herself but knows what the church teaches and she can’t help but wonder if that’s what’s holding them back. Or what’s going to keep them apart. And, ultimately, that’s what Erin wants. For them to be together.

“It’s okay.” She takes Erin by the hand and tugs her along to the bedroom. She let’s go of Erin’s hand at the bedroom door and spins around to face Erin. “Are you excited about tomorrow?” Ella asks and pulls her shirt over her head.

Erin stands there in awe and amazement. Ella sure has a unique way of changing the subject and taking Erin’s mind from its previous thoughts. “Y-yeah.” She stutters as she watches Ella put her shirt on the chair and then climb onto the bed in just her sports bra and sweatpants. Erin doesn’t think she’ll ever get over how amazing Ella looks.

Ella gets into her spot on the bed and looks over to see Erin still standing at the door. “Are you coming to bed?” She smirks devilishly.

Erin nods and hurries over to the other side of the bed and crawls onto it. She straddles Ella on her hands and knees, hovering over her. “I’m very excited about tomorrow. I love music. You know that.” Erin says before leaning in for a kiss.

Ella hums into the kiss. “What time are we leaving?” Ella asks between kisses.

“I was thinking ten but I’ll have to check with Dri.” Erin says and presses her lips to the corner of Ella’s mouth before moving them to her jaw, and then Ella’s neck.

“O-kay.” Ella stutters as Erin kisses her neck. She puts her hands on the small of Erin’s back underneath her t-shirt. “I can’t wait til tomorrow.” Ella mumbles. She runs her hands up and down Erin’s back.

Erin peels away from Ella’s neck and looks at her. “Ella?” Erin quirks an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Ella moves her hands to Erin’s side, lightly tracing her fingers over the skin.

Erin twitches. “Uh-“ She forgets what she was going to say as Ella’s fingers move against her sides.

“Erin?” Ella smiles, waiting for her to say something.

“That tickles.” Erin squirms around.

Ella bites her lip. “What? This?” Ella wiggles her fingers against Erin sides with more force.

Erin squirms. “Stop.” She gasps for breath. “Ella. Please.” She can’t stop laughing.

Ella is enjoying herself to much to stop. She tickles Erin’s sides with fervor. She laughs as Erin laughs and tries to breath above her. But, Erin can’t take much more and her arms give out and she falls on top of Ella.

Ella coughs a little at the sudden weight on her upper body. “Maybe that wasn’t the smartest idea.” Ella mumbles.

“No.” Erin takes a few deep breathes.

Ella rubs her hands up and down Erin’s back in slow gentle circles. “I didn’t know you were ticklish.”

“Just my sides.” Erin raises unto her elbow, lifting a little of her weight off of Ella. Not that Ella was complaining.

“I learn something new about you every day.” Ella smiles.

Erin looks over at the clock. It’s approaching eleven. “Think you can sleep?” She asks looking back to Ella.

“Yeah.” It’s been three hours since the game ended. Ella thinks she’ll be fine now.

Erin grins. “Okay.” She collapses her arms and flops down onto Ella’s again. Erin closes her eyes and starts fake snoring.

Ella laughs at Erin’s antics. “Erin. We can’t sleep like this.”

Erin fake snores on. “Sure we can.” She says after a moment. Erin doesn’t make any attempt to move. She remains laying directly on top of Ella.

“You might be able to, but I can’t. Not with you completely on top of me. I can’t move.” Ella complains.

“You don’t need to move. Just sleep.” Erin finally lifts her head, opens her eyes, and smirks at Ella.

Ella rolls her eyes.

Erin takes that moment to kiss Ella. She leans up on her elbows so she can get a proper kiss in and then rolls off of Ella.

Ella rolls onto her side, following Erin. Erin holds her arm out and Ella nuzzles into that place at Erin’s side that she loves so much. That place wearing she’s comfortable and she can rest her head on Erin’s shoulder and still see Erin if she wants to.

Erin kisses Ella’s forehead. “Goodnight, beautiful.”

Ella smiles, kissing Erin’s neck. “Goodnight.”


	15. Chapter 15

Ella wakes up in the middle of the night to the sound of Erin snoring. It’s not the first time Ella has woken up and Erin was snoring beside her, but this is the first time that it is the reason she has woken up. Erin is snoring right into her ear. Ella nudges Erin in the side with her elbow.

“Erin.” She whispers.

Erin doesn’t wake up. She’s deep into sleep. Ella rolls over to face Erin. She shakes Erin’s shoulder. “Erin. You’re snoring.”

“Wha-“ Erin says groggily. “Sorry, babe. Go back to sleep.” She mumbles and pulls Ella to her chest, holding her close, and goes back to sleep.

But Ella is more awake now than she was with the snoring. One word is on repeat in her mind. Over and over. She thinks that maybe Erin doesn’t know what she said in her sleep but Ella heard the words that came out of Erin’s mouth clearly.

How can she sleep now? Ella wonders what it means. She wonders if Erin meant to say it. She wonders if Erin is serious. There’s only one way to find out and that’s to ask. But Ella doesn’t want to do that. That opens up the possibility for embarrassment, for both of them. Ella tries to forget about it and go back to sleep but it takes her a long time to fall asleep again.

* * *

 

In the morning, Ella is up first. She lets Erin sleep in and goes out to the kitchen. She looks through the cupboards until she finds something she knows she can make without screwing it up. Pancakes. She gets the pancake mix out and gets to work in the kitchen.

Ella remembers what happened in the middle of the night but she’s decided that she’s not going to let it bother her. If Erin uses the word again, fine, and they can address it then. If not, that’s fine too. Ella’s not going to dwell on one little word and let it whip her into a frenzy.

The pancakes are cooking on the stove when Erin comes out of her room. She walks up behind Ella and wraps her arms around her from behind and kisses her cheek. Ella smiles down at the pancakes she’s currently cooking.

“This is a wonderful surprise.” Erin whispers into Ella’s ear. Ella shrugs against Erin. “I could get used to this.” Erin kisses Ella’s shoulder before unwrapping her arms from around Ella and going to the fridge. She gets out the orange juice and milk. Erin goes about setting the table and getting everything else ready while Ella finishes with the pancakes. They work in perfect coordination and are seated at the table eating before long.

Erin reaches over and puts her hand on Ella’s arm, squeezing it. “Thanks for making breakfast. It’s delicious.” She smiles over at the girl.

“You’re welcome.” Ella smiles back. “And thanks for getting everything else ready.”

Erin nods. She takes her hand back and continues eating.

Dri comes out when they are nearly done eating breakfast. “What’s this?”

“Ella made breakfast. There’s a few pancakes on the counter for you.” Erin supplies.

Dri shakes her head. “No.” She points at the two of them. “This? Sitting at the table? Eating a proper meal and not sitting at the island counter?”

Erin shrugs. “It just felt right.”

Ella nods in agreement.

Dri makes a face. She doesn’t understand them sometimes. “Okay.” She goes over to the counter and collects her plate of pancakes and sits at the counter to eat. “Thanks for making breakfast, Ella.” Dri says with a smile.

“No problem. But since we did all the work-“ Ella pauses for dramatic effect. “-you have to do the dishes.” Ella smirks.

Erin chuckles at her side. “Good idea.” Erin comments. Ella turns to smile at Erin.

Dri grumbles under her breath about doing the dishes but knows it’s only fair.

“I’m a genius.” Ella grins triumphantly.

Erin bites her lips. She really wants to kiss that grin off of Ella’s face. “You are.” She says instead. Erin pats Ella’s thigh. “Let’s go get ready.” Erin gets up from the table and Ella follows. “You wanna leave at ten, Dri?”

“That sounds good.” Dri says between bites of pancakes.

“Alright.” Erin collects her and Ella’s dirty dishes.

“Thanks.” Ella leans up on her tiptoes and kisses Erin on the cheek.

Erin nods and brings their dishes to the sink. Ella scampers away to Erin’s bedroom. She goes straight for the closet and Erin’s clothes. She flips through the clothes on the hangers. Nothing jumps out at Ella so she switches and goes over to the dresser. She’s looking for something simply, that will be light and loose. She starts going through the shirts in the second drawer.

Erin comes to the bedroom and sees Ella rummaging through her drawers. Erin leans up against the doorframe with her shoulder and folds her arms over her chest. “What are you doing?”

Ella startles and looks over at Erin. “I- I- nothing.” She smiles innocently.

Erin smirks. “Doesn’t look like nothing to me.” She pushes away from the doorframe and goes over to where Ella is standing at the dresser. “Are you stealing my clothes?” Erin unfolds her arms and puts her right hand on the side of the pulled out drawer.

“No.” Ella pulls a shocked face. “I would never.”

“Really?” Erin raises her eyebrows.

“Well-“ Ella shrugs and trails off. She looks away from Erin, back to the opened drawer. “I mean I could go home and get something but-“

“No, don’t.” Erin moves her hand from the dresser drawer to Ella’s arm. Ella looks back at Erin. “Go ahead.” Erin gives Ella a tight-lipped smile. “Pick something out.” Erin instructs.

Ella nods and looks back through the shirts in the drawer. She spots a green tank top that will fit her criteria quite well and pulls it from the drawer. She holds it up and looks to Erin for her reaction.

“Nice choice.” Erin nods and smiles. She secretly loves it when Ella wears her clothes. It doesn’t matter what it is. Erin finds Ella in her clothes so appealing and undeniably irresistible. “Put it on.” Erin whispers lowly.

Ella stares at Erin for a moment trying to figure out if she’s serious or not. When Erin doesn’t say or do anything further Ella knows she is. Ella pulls her shirt over her head and throws it backwards onto the bed. She then pulls Erin’s shirt on, adjusting it a little, and checks with Erin for a reaction.

Erin licks her lips and opening eyes Ella up and down. “Very nice.” She mumbles. Erin pulls a tank top from the drawer and unceremoniously takes the shirt she has on off and pulls the tank top over her head. “There, I think we’re ready to go.” Erin reaches out for Ella’s waist and pulls her to her body. She smirks and leans in for a kiss.

“No.” Ella grins. “Now we’re ready.”

* * *

 

“I had a great day with you today.” Erin sighs as they lay in bed.

Ella brushes Erin’s hair away from her face. “Me too.” She leans in and kisses Erin gently. “So much fun.” Ella goes on. “But my feet kinda hurt from standing all day.”

“Whaaa.” Erin mock cries.

Ella pushes Erin and Erin rolls onto her back. “Shut up, you. You were the one that was complaining that it was too hot. I think your exact words were the sun is melting my face off.” Ella chuckles. She scoots closer to Erin, closing the distance between their bodies. She rests her hand on Erin’s chest.

“Well, it was.” Erin defends herself. “But, seriously. I had a great day. It couldn’t possibly have been any better.” Erin says with a satisfied smile.

“Woah, don’t get carried away there.” Ella pats at Erin’s chest.

“No, really. Ella, I always have a great time with you.”

“Dri was there too.” Ella reminds Erin.

“No offense to Dri, but I barely noticed her. Sometimes it’s hard for me to notice other people when you are around. It’s like all my sense tune to you.” Erin shares.

Ella blushes hard. It’s sometimes difficult for her to take a compliment or sweet words from Erin. It’s not something she’s used to. Erin’s open and honest attitude throws her off sometimes. “Erin- I- I-“ Ella stutters.

Erin smiles and kisses Ella’s forehead. “Let’s sleep.” Erin tells her. She knows Ella isn’t the greatest with her words. Erin doesn’t fault her for that. She just wishes she could get a little more from the girl sometimes. They say actions speak louder than words and Erin sees Ella’s actions for what they are. But, Erin is a feelings person and she would like nothing more than to discuss her feelings for Ella with Ella. She’s got all these feelings for her and she wants to tell them to her but doesn’t want to scare Ella away.

“Okay.” Ella nuzzles into Erin’s side. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, beautiful.” Erin kisses her forehead again.

* * *

 

Ella walks out of her room with a little extra hop in her step. Morning practice went well and Ella worked her tail off. She’s hoping that it pays off and she will get to play against Washington like she did in their last game. But that’s not why she has a hop in her step.

The hop comes from some of the things she’s been thinking about. Ella’s been trying to evaluate the situation and where she stands with her thoughts and what she feels in her heart. That struggle between her head and her heart is still present but Ella feels like she’s been letting her heart win out most of the time.

She’s just keeps thinking about Erin and where things are possibly going with them and where she wants them to go. It’s just that the old thoughts, the ideas, the rules are ingrained into her brain and sometimes it’s hard to think and get past them. It’s not like Ella is just going to forget the teachings of the church overnight. And she doesn’t want to forget. She’s been working on trying to find a balance. Somewhere in between. She’s starting to think that she can have and maintain both.

Ella thinks one of the best parts about Erin is that she has Ella thinking in ways she never has before in her life. The way Erin lives her life and the way she is honest and her beliefs has Ella thinking about everything different. She’s seeing things, life, in a new light. A wonderful new light. And that’s the best part. Ella has opened up her mind to all the possibilities that life holds. She’s not as closed minded about things and so set in her ways anymore.

Ella gets something to eat and then retreats to her room. After she is finished with her snack she picks up her guitar and heads across the hall. She wants to see what Erin has come up with for songs to play for their final episode.

She walks in and Dri is watching tv.

“Hey, Ella.” Dri says without bothering to look to see who it is. She knows that Ella doesn’t knock and just walks right in. She’s just about the only person who does that so Dri knows who it is right away. “Erin’s in her room.” Dri continues.

“Thanks.” Ella says, not thinking anything of it. She figured Erin would be in her room. She’s been spending a lot of time on her art the closer to her gallery showing that she gets. Ella’s been trying to let Erin work and not disturb her but today she just has to find out what songs they’re going to do.

Ella pushes the door open and Max comes over from his doggy bed. “Hey buddy.” She bends over and gives Max a few pats. Ella looks over and sees Erin at her desk working hard on some art thing or another.

“Ms. Masar, what brings you to this part of the world?” Erin asks, not looking up from her work.

Ella smiles down at Max. “I came to see Max.”

“That’s all? Just Max?” Erin finally looks over at Ella. “Then what’s with the guitar?” Erin raises an eyebrow.

Ella stands up straight and looks over at Erin. “I plan on playing him a song.” She says with a straight face.

“Is that so?” Erin puts her pencil down and folds her arms over her chest.

“Yeah.” Ella lifts the guitar and starts playing something for Max. She looks at the little dog as she plays. Erin watches from the corner of the room with a huge grin on her face. Ella strums for a little while but Max isn’t too impressed. He goes back to his bed and lays down. Ella stops playing and looks over at Erin. “Tough crowd.”

The smile on Erin’s face brings a smile to Ella’s lips as well. “Come here.” Erin motions for Ella to come to her.

Ella sets the guitar on the bed and goes over to Erin. Erin holds out her arms and Ella sits on her lap. “Why are you really here?” Erin wraps her arms around Ella’s waist. Ella’s hands go to the back of Erin’s neck.

“Am I not allowed to be here?” Ella questions.

“No. You can be here. But I have to work.” Erin nods to her latest creation.

“Can I watch?” Ella licks her lips.

Erin nods. She knows what Ella is thinking and meets her for a kiss. Erin hums into the kiss. It energizes her and she feels like she can power through the piece she’s working on in no time and have some time to spend with Ella afterwards.

Ella strokes her fingers over the nape of Erin’s neck gently. “Can I ask you something first before you get back to your art?”

“Shoot.” Erin says.

“What?” Ella scrunches up her face in confusion.

Erin smiles. “What’s your question?”

“Oh.” Ella presses her lips together. “What songs are we gonna do for the video? I need to learn them. What did you pick out? Tell me you picked out something?” Ella asks rapidly.

Erin chuckles. “Don’t worry. I did.”

“And?” Ella needs to know.

Erin has thought about the song choice long and hard. It’s not a decision she’s taking lightly. Erin thinks this is the perfect opportunity. She has a couple of songs in mind that she thinks are perfect songs for them to do. Secretly, Erin has picked songs that she hopes convey a certain message to Ella without her having to say anything herself. Erin can sort of expression her feelings through song.

“Soooo- I have two song ideas. Undertow by Timbaland, for one. Do you know it?” Erin asks.

“I’ve heard it but I don’t know it well. Not that it matters. I’ll just look it up. I’ll have to either way. What’s the second song?”

“Someone Like You.”

“Really?” Ella scrunches up her face. “That song is slow and- and- sorta sad.” She doesn’t know why Erin would want to do that song. Sure, everyone knows it, but it’s also kind of a downer.

Erin shrugs. “I don’t really think so. Listen to the lyrics.” Erin clears her throat and starts singing part of the song. “You know how the time flies. Only yesterday was the time of our lives. We were born and raised in a summer haze. Bound by the surprise of our glory days.” She sings softly. “I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited. But I couldn’t stay away I couldn’t fight it. I had hoped you’d see my face and that you’d be reminded. That for me it isn’t over.” Erin finishes.

Ella leans in and kisses Erin. “That was beautiful. You are amazing.” Ella is blown away every time Erin sings. Even more so, right now, because she’s basically getting a private concert.

Erin shrugs off Ella’s praise. “I guess it is kind of a sad song but it’s about the memories of when two people fell in love, even though it ended.” She looks directly into Ella’s eyes. “And love is a beautiful thing. No matter what.” Erin says softly.

Ella just nods. Somehow, she thinks Erin isn’t talking about the song anymore. “Uh huh.” Ella mumbles unintelligibly.

Erin smiles at Ella’s cute stunned face. She leans forward and kisses the dopey look off of Ella’s face. She leans her forehead against Ella’s afterwards. “I need to get back to work but I would love it if you stay.” Erin whispers.

“Okay.” Ella whispers back.

“I’m gonna need you to get off my lap though.” Erin grins and squeezes her hands against Ella’s sides.

Ella pulls her forehead away from Erin’s. She looks at Erin for a long moment before smiling and getting up from Erin’s lap. “I’ll be over there. You stay here.” She mumbles.

Erin nods. “Okay.”

Ella goes over to the bed and sits on the edge. She pulls her guitar into her lap and starts playing. Ella looks over at Erin and smiles. Erin smiles in return, before turning back to her desk, and resuming her work.

Ella plays and watches as Erin works on her latest art project. When Erin is finished she cleans up and goes over to Ella. “I’m finished for today.” She pushes against Ella’s shoulder and Ella falls backwards onto the bed.

Ella puts her guitar aside. “Is that so?” She grins.

Erin nods and kneels onto the bed, straddling Ella’s waist. She leans forward onto the hands so that her face hovers over Ella. “It is.” Erin leans down and connects her lips with Ella’s.

* * *

 

Ella has dinner with Erin and Dri but goes home after dinner. “I’ll be back.” She promises Erin.

Ella wants to spend some time with her roommates before the end of the night and give Erin and Dri the opportunity to do the same. But, Ella has every intention of returning to the Canadians apartment before bed time.

With another road trip coming the following day, Ella wants to makes sure she spends the night with Erin.

Ella returns a few hours later wearing a sports bra and shorts. The door is open so she lets herself in. The apartment is quite though and no one is out in the common area. She locks the door and quickly and quietly heads to Erin’s room.

She pushes the door open. It’s dark. She enters and shuts the door. Ella lets her eyes adjust for a moment. When they do, she spots Erin laying on the bed. “Erin.” Ella whispers. She doesn’t get a reply.

Ella makes her way across the room. Max perks up from his bed when she passes him. Ella climbs onto the left side of the bed. She puts a hand on Erin’s shoulder. “Erin, are you awake?” Ella doesn’t get a response so she flops onto her back on the bed next to Erin. She wanted to come back and spend some time with Erin before they went to bed but Ella got held up with Lori and Taryn.

Ella lets out an annoyed sigh and closes her eyes. She knows she should have come back sooner. Ella gets out of bed so she can shuffle under the blankets with Erin and then scoots up behind Erin. “Erin, I’m sorry.” She whispers into the night.

“For what?” Erin says groggily and rolls towards Ella.

“You’re asleep. I didn’t mean to wake you. Go back to sleep.” Ella attempts to get Erin back to sleep.

It’s not going to work though. Erin has other ideas. “No. I was just resting my eyes, waiting for you. I must have fallen asleep for a little bit. But you’re here now. It’s all good.”

Ella smiles at Erin’s cute sleepy talk. She sighs happily. “It’s getting late though. We should go to sleep.”

“I don’t want to.” Erin whines. “Go turn on the light. We can do something.”

Ella grins like a fool. “I’m not turning the light on.” She leans over Erin and kisses her. “But we can do something.” She smirks devilishly.

That peaks Erin’s interest. “Oh, really? What are you thinking?”

Ella sneaks her hand under Erin’s t-shirt and wiggles her fingertips against Erin’s stomach. She kisses Erin again. This time biting her lip before releasing it. She presses her forehead against Erin’s and whispers. “Take your shirt off.”

Erin licks her lips. “What are you suggesting?” She grins.

“That you make out with me and that you take your shirt off.” Ella says bluntly.

“Mmm.” Erin hums. “I like the way you think.” She tilts her chin up so she can kiss Ella quickly. “Sit up.” Erin instructs. Ella sits back and Erin sits up and pulls her shirt over her head and throws it on the floor. “Better?”

“Much.” Ella smirks and looks down. “Woah.” She’s surprised at what she sees. Ella wasn’t expecting Erin to not be wearing anything underneath her t-shirt.

Erin chuckles awkwardly. “That’s what you wanted.” She shrugs.

Ella looks up to Erin’s eyes. “It is. But- oh never mind.” She grabs Erin’s face with her hands and pulls Erin in for a heated kiss. Erin smirks into the kiss and wraps her arms around Ella’s back, pulling them together as they kiss.

* * *

 

Ella wakes up in the morning with Erin wrapped around her from behind. She smiles. It’s nice. Like really nice. It’s one of the nicest things. Ella has really enjoyed sleeping in Erin’s bed with her. It’s not something she thought she would enjoy so much but she does. It’s a simple thing and she loves it.

Ella rolls backwards into Erin, pushing Erin onto her back. She gets grumble out of Erin in response. Ella looks over her shoulder and sees Erin for the first time today. She’s reminded of the activities from the night before when she sees that Erin is still without a shirt or anything to cover her upper body. The covers are pulled up to Erin’s shoulders but Ella sees the naked shoulder flesh and knows what is underneath. Or what isn’t.

Ella blushes hard and bites her lip as the events play over and over in her mind. She almost can’t believe it.

“Hey you.” Erin says with her husky sleep voice.

“Hey.” Ella looks away.

“What’s up?” Erin can feel the uneasiness radiating from Ella.

“Can you put a shirt on?” Ella mumbles.

Erin smirks. “Oh, how the tables have turned.” Erin chuckles. She rolls onto her side and into Ella. Erin wraps her arm around Ella and pulls her to her chest. “Is someone embarrassed in the light of day?” Erin asks boldly.

Ella cranes her neck to lock eyes with Erin. “Well, you’re clearly not.” She rolls her eyes.

Erin purses her lips together and shrugs. She’s clearly grown comfortable with Ella and doing all things with her. That includes shirtlessness. Erin relishes in the bold feeling that she’s feeling right now. She feels like she could do anything and that feeling won’t go away. It exhilarating.

“Okay. Okay.” Erin rolls away from Ella. She senses that Ella isn’t so comfortable with their current situation. Erin remembers the night back and smiles. Ella seemed fairly comfortable and confident the night before. Erin reaches for her shirt and puts it on as she gets out of bed. She gets up, turns, and kneels with one knee on the edge of the bed. “We gotta get going anyway.” Erin references the flight that they have to catch to Washington in a few hours.

Ella lays on her back and looks over at Erin. She just nods simply.

“But first, before anything happens today, the Prince wants a kiss.” Erin leans over onto the bed, bracing herself by putting her hand next to Ella’s shoulder. She puckers her lips and waits.

“You’re such a dork.” Ella pushes at Erin’s shoulder.

Erin mock falls backwards and flops onto the bed with a groan. “Oh, come on.”

Ella rolls away from Erin and gets out of bed. “I’m going home to shower and pack.”

“Nooo.” Erin gets up quickly and gets to Ella before she can open the door. She grabs Ella by the wrist and spins her around.

Ella is smiling even before Erin wraps her hand around her wrist. She was waiting for Erin to stop her. Erin pulls them together and Ella leans up on her tiptoes, getting the prefect angle, for their kiss. Erin leans down and presses her lips to Ella’s with a happy sigh.

“Okay, go shower now.” Erin says afterwards. “Don’t want you to be late again.” She smirks and let’s go of Ella’s wrist.

“You’re a brat.” Ella rolls her eyes and turns away from Erin.

“Which is it?” Erin asks from behind Ella. She puts her hands on her hips. “A dork or a brat?” She questions.

Ella looks over her shoulder. “Both.” She winks and pulls the door open.

Erin stands there smiling long after Ella is gone. Eventually, she collects herself and gathers up some fresh clothes and goes to take a shower of her own.

* * *

 

The team flies to Washington, gets settled into the hotel, and has a practice before having a team dinner.

* * *

 

First thing the next morning is the team breakfast. They girls go their separate ways after breakfast for a little while and get ready for the team walk. Erin goes back to her room and changes from sweats and flip-flops to shorts and sneakers.

“You all ready to go?” She asks Taylor.

“Yep.” Taylor is just tying her shoes as Erin asks.

They go down to the lobby of the hotel and wait for everyone to get there. Erin sits down in a big arm chair. They are two of the first ones there. So she sits and they wait. Erin gets out her phone and texts her sister to ask about the kids to occupy her time.

It’s about five minutes before everyone is gathered and Leslie is calling attention and quieting and gathering the troops. Erin pockets her phone and looks around at everyone. She spots Ella across the room. The girl is engrossed in a conversation with Jackie and Alyssa. Erin looks Ella up and down. From her hair pulled back into a bun, to the smile on her face at whatever Jackie is saying. Erin searches lower. Ella with her hands on the back of a chair, leaning onto it slightly, making the muscles on her arm pop out from under her t-shirt sleeves. Erin looks at the shirt a little closer and recognizes it right away. A smile tugs at the corners of her lips. It’s one of her shirts that Ella is wearing.

“What are you looking at?” Lori interrupts Erin little moment of just staring and appreciating Ella’s natural beauty.

“What? Nothing.” Erin shakes her head and stands up. She faces Lori. “I was just thinking.”

“Sure you were.” Lori smiles at Erin knowingly. Erin knows she’s caught. She slumps her shoulders and sighs. “It’s okay. I think it’s endearing. Ella’s lucky.” Lori thinks only good things about Erin. She thinks Erin is good for Ella in so many ways.

“I’m the lucky one.” Erin whispers. Lori pats Erin on the arm.

“Okay. We’re all ready. Let’s go.” Leslie leads the team walk. She leads the team out of the lobby, out of the hotel.

They walk the streets for a while, looking for little things to do, and places to stop and hold an activity.

Erin walks towards the back of the pack. She keeps catching herself looking over at Ella during the walk. She’s supposed to be focused on the team activities but her eyes wander and then her mind wanders. She can’t help but smile every time she sees Ella in her shirt. They aren’t near each other at all during the walk. Ella hangs with Alyssa and Jackie mostly and Erin hangs with Lori and Taylor. But Erin just can’t get over the fact that Ella has her shirt on and she didn’t even know Ella had it. There’s just something about Ella wearing her shirt that she finds endearing. And so many other things.

The team is out for nearly an hour when they stop at a little coffee shop and anyone who wants coffee gets in line. The stop at the coffee shop is quick. Well, as quick as it can be. Those who get coffee get their coffee and the team leaves to walk back to the hotel.

Erin catches up to Ella as they enter the hotel lobby. She reaches out and grabs Ella’s elbow. Ella looks down at the hand on her arm and then looks up to meet Erin’s eyes. Erin smirks. “Nice shirt.”

Ella looks down at the shirt that she’s wearing. It’s a simple t-shirt with a design on the front. She smiles and looks back to Erin. “Thanks.” Ella bites her lip. She knows what Erin is referring to even though neither one of them brings it up.

“It looks very good on you.” Erin licks her lips.

“It’s just a t-shirt.” Ella grins.

“I know but still-“ Erin shrugs. She eyes Ella up and down openly.

Ella bites her lip. “Go to your room, Erin.”

Erin smirks. “Yes, ma’am.”

Ella shakes her head and walks away from Erin, going back to her own hotel room. Erin feels more alive after her brief conversation with Ella. She smiles confidently and walks with her head held high all the way back to her room.

* * *

 

The game that night is a mess. It’s delayed twice due to lightning and abandoned at the 12 am curfew. The game was stopped the first time in the 77th minute and then again in the 81st minute. The score at the end of the night Washington 1 - Chicago 0.

Ella started the game and played 59 minutes. While she’s happy that she started and played into the second half she’s not happy that she didn’t get as many minutes as the game before. She wonders what she did or didn’t do to only play that many minutes. It’s on her mind the whole time they are sitting in the locker room through the rain and lightning delays. But once the game is called Ella tries to move on. It’s over, it’s done with. Tomorrow is a new day and she’ll have to try harder, try again to prove herself.

The team packs up and leaves the stadium. They don’t get back to the hotel until almost two in the morning. It’s a later than usually night for the team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anticipate another chapter tomorrow


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as promised another chapter. i posted a chapter yesterday. if you didn't read that yet read that first and then read this. enjoy.

The team flies back to Chicago early the next morning. Everyone is tired and disappointed with the loss and the weather shortened game the night before.

There are no team activities planned for the day and everyone goes their separate ways once they get their bags. But, while the team doesn’t have any activities planned, Ella and Erin do.

“You ready to do this?” Ella asks.

“Yup.” Erin wiggles her phone back and forth in the air. “All I have to do is hit call.” Erin shows Ella the screen of the phone with Carm’s contact information on it.

“Okay. Let’s do it.” Ella sits down in her spinney chair.

Erin hits call and waits. The phone starts ringing. They set this up with Carm a couple of days ago. When they were back in Chicago and Carm had some free time after practice. Erin sits down in the chair next to Ella’s chair.

“Hello.” Carm picks up.

Ella and Erin share a smile and Erin puts the phone on speaker. “You ready for this, buddy?” Erin asks.

“I’m ready for whatever you throw at me.” Carm smirks confidently. It gets a chuckle out of Ella and a smile from Erin.

“Okay. Just a sec while we get the camera rolling on this end, and then we’ll do an intro, then bring you in. Okay.” Ella explains what’s going to happen.

“Okay, bud.” Carm says and waits patiently.

* * *

 

Ella is driving them back to the apartment after taping the Carm portion of the episode. Erin reaches over the takes Ella’s hand in hers. Ella glances over at Erin briefly, a questioning glance. But Erin smiles as soon as Ella’s eyes meet hers before Ella smiles and looks back to the road. Ella squeezes Erin’s hand.

Erin continues looking at Ella as she drives. She’s been thinking about something since they taped. They haven’t really talked about it but Ella brought it up today and it got the gears going in Erin’s head. She wants to know what Ella is thinking in more specifics.

“So Vancouver?” Erin whispers.

“What about it?” Ella licks her lips, not taking her eyes off the road.

“You brought it up during the episode.” Erin hints.

“Yeah.” Ella says.

“What were you thinking there?” Erin asks confidently. Her heart beats a little faster in her chest. The possibilities swim frantically in her mind.

Ella shrugs and sighs. “Erin.” Ella tries to take her hand away from Erin’s.

Erin folds it firm, her thumb stroking over the skin on the back of Ella’s right hand. “Ella.” Erin parrots.

“What?” Ella gets frustrated with this fragmented conversation.

Erin gets down to what she really wants to ask. Well, close. “Are you serious about going to Vancouver in the off season to visit Carm?”

Ella looks over at Erin when they pull up to a red light. She bites her lip, not sure how to reply. “Can we talk about this when we get back to the apartment?” Ella tries to dodge the subject.

Erin sighs, her posture sags too. “Okay.”

They drive the rest of the way to the apartment in silence. It’s too much for Ella at one point and she turns the radio on.

Erin follows Ella into the building and up the stairs to their floor. She’s surprised when Ella goes to the Canadian’s door instead of her own. “What are you doing?” Erin asks.

Ella shrugs. “You wanted to talk.”

Erin nods. She did but she didn’t think Ella would actually go through with it. Like, when they got back they would go to their separate apartments and the conversation would be forgotten. Erin goes to the door and unlocks it and lets Ella enter the apartment first.

Max greets them at the door and Ella gives him some attention. Erin walks past them as Ella gets down on her knees on the floor and Max puts his paws up on her thighs. He reaches up and tries to lick Ella’s face. “Max, no.” Ella laughs and keeps the dog from her face. She stands so he can’t get to her anymore. She looks around the room and sees Erin heading to her room already. “We’ll play more later, buddy.” Ella tells him. She has sensed the shift in Erin’s mood since she told her they could talk at the apartment. So she follows Erin into her room.

Ella shuts the door behind herself and leans against it with her back. “Erin.” Ella looks over at the goalkeeper, who is sitting on the bed looking down at the floor.

Erin doesn’t want to get her hopes up but she can’t help but picture Ella visiting Vancouver in the coming months. “Are you serious?” Erin asks the same question she asked in the car.

Ella breaths out a long, deep breath. “Are you serious about going to Vancouver to visit Carm like you said during the taping?”

“Erin.” Ella walks over to the bed and sits down next to Erin. “I don’t know. That was mostly just for the show. It’s mostly for show.” Ella puts her hand on Erin’s thigh and Erin looks over at her. “I don’t have the money. That’s why I joked about getting a fund going. I can’t afford it.”

Erin nods. She has her answer. “Okay.” Erin says sadly. She didn’t want to get her hopes up but she had in the short time since Ella mentioned it.

“Erin?” Ella tries to get Erin to look at her but she won’t. Ella finds Erin’s hand and holds it in her own and that gets Erin to look at her. “If it happened-“ Ella rubs her thumb over Erin’s knuckles. “-it wouldn’t be to see Carm.”

A hint of a smile threatens at the corners of Erin’s lips. “Oh, really?” Erin asks shyly.

“Yeah, silly.” Ella grins.

“Then who would it be to see?” Erin asks, a grin taking over her face.

Ella rolls her eyes. “You’re too much sometimes.”

Erin quirks an eyebrow. “Who?” She jokes around. Erin still hasn’t gotten a reasonable response.

“You, Erin, you. Who else would I see?” Ella rolls her eyes again.

“I don’t know. You said Carm. Then there’s Em. Who else do you know that lives there?” Erin thinks of the possibilities of people that Ella knows.

“Erin. Stop.” Ella laughs.

Erin nods her head back and forth. “So you’re saying if you had the funds, that you would come visit me in Vancouver in the off season?”

“Definitely.” Ella nods and smiles. If things were different. If she got paid more. Or got paid year-round maybe then maybe it would be possible. But as of right now, Ella doesn’t see how it could happen.

“Cool.” Erin grins. She starts brainstorming ideas to raise the money or find the money for Ella to go to Vancouver.

“Let’s get some rest. I know I could use it after the night we had last night and the early morning.” Ella says with a sly smirk. She knows Erin would want nothing more right now.

“I like the way you think.” Erin agrees and flops onto her back on the bed.

“Properly, silly.” Ella gets up and goes around to the other side of the bed. She takes her pants off and climbs into bed under the covers.

Erin watches this develop and quickly resituates herself in bed so she’s under the cover and wrapping herself up in Ella. Erin hums as she wraps her arms around Ella and pulls the girl to her chest. “You’re the best.” Erin mumbles and kisses the top of Ella’s head.

Ella sighs and snuggle closer to Erin. A shy grin on her face. “I know.” She jokes.

Erin chuckles. “And full of yourself.” She adds.

“I know that too.” Ella laughs. “Nap time.” Ella yawns with the thought. “Sleep now.” She mumbles and rubs her face against Erin’s shoulder.

“Okay.” Erin whisper and kisses Ella’s head once more. “Goodnight beautiful.” She says. It feels good to have Ella in her arms, in her bed again, after their trip to Washington.

* * *

 

Erin wakes up first. She had a dream during her nap. Not a bad dream but a rather good one. The opposite of bad. It woke her up though.

It felt so real. It was December, just before Christmas, and everyone was in good spirits because of the season. Erin was in great spirits. She was at home and cooking dinner and Max was playing in the other room with someone. When Erin looked over she saw a mass of blonde hair. She knew who it was that was playing with Max right away. Erin went over to the two and got down on the floor with them. Erin looked right into Ella’s eyes and smiled. Happy just to have Ella in the same place as her. The same room, the same building, the same country. Erin was happy because Ella was in Vancouver, in her apartment.

That’s when Erin woke up from her dream. She looks over at Ella. The blonde beauty sleeping peacefully next to her, laying on her side, with her hands curled up and tucked under her chin. “So adorable.” Erin whispers. She gets closer to Ella so that her face is an inch or two away. She looks at Ella, takes in all her facial features. Every inch of her skin. Every little detail that makes Ella, Ella. Erin reaches up and runs the back of her index finger over Ella’s nose gently. She puts her hand on top of Ella’s hands and leans in. Erin presses a soft kiss to Ella’s forehead. Then another to her right cheek. Then her nose and finally her lips.

“Ella.” She whispers. Erin doesn’t get a response so she goes through the motions again. Kissing Ella’s forehead, her cheek, her nose, and finally her lips. But when Erin gets to Ella’s lips Ella comes to life. She kisses Erin back softly, moving her lips against Erin’s.

“Ella.” Erin whispers after the kiss.

“Erin.” Ella whispers and smiles.

That smile that Erin loves. It’s what she lives for. To see Ella smile. To make Ella smile fills her with so much joy and happiness. She loves Ella. She knows that for sure. It’s such a pure feeling. And it’s one she’s never felt so intensely before. It scares her though. There’s so much that scares her about it. About Ella. There seem to be more questions than answers at the moment. So much that’s against them. So much to work through, to get through, and overcome. Erin wants this thing to work out but she just doesn’t know if it will.

“Tell me about your religion, your faith.” Erin requests. She wants to know more. She wants to see what Ella sees. She wants to understand it.

Ella is surprised. She sits up in bed, leaning on her elbow and looking down at Erin. “Really?” Ella brushes her mane of hair over her opposite shoulder so it’s out of the way.

“Yeah.” Erin nods. “What does it mean to you?”

Ella bites her lip and thinks for a few moments. “Well, my religion is about love, and understanding, and having faith that everything will turn out the way it’s supposed to.” Ella begins with simply.

“Oh.” Erin ponders Ella’s words. That seems simply enough.

“It’s believing that God has you in his hands and that he will take care of you and protect you, no matter what. That He has a plan for you and that you shouldn’t worry about the outcome of the events in your life because they were meant to be.”

“So then why-“ Erin starts but Ella cuts her off.

“I know that’s hard sometimes. Believe me when I say that’s a hard one for me. I tend to question a lot of things. Ya know, my dad and stuff. And it was hard to believe that after he died that it was all a part of the plan. That it was meant to happen. But it did. So I guess-“ Ella trails off.

“So love and understanding and faith. What else?” Erin wants to know more.

Ella licks her lips. “Living by the words of the Bible. Living the way Jesus did. Living by the Commandments and the rules and laws of the church.” Ella shrugs. She doesn’t know what Erin wants to hear or know. She doesn’t really know why Erin is asking, to be honest. Erin has never really shown any interest in religion, in her religion.

“Okay.” Erin mumbles. “I’m just trying to wrap my head around it.”

Ella finds Erin’s hand and takes it, threading their fingers together. She brings Erin’s hand to her mouth and kisses the back of it. “Thank you.” Ella says.

“For what?” Erin questions.

“For being so understanding. For never judging me for what I believe. For never pushing that aside. For knowing that’s a part of me and accepting that it is. For being the wonderful human being that you are. I don’t know how you do it. You are so wonderful to everyone you come into contact with. It’s amazing. Inspiring.” Ella kisses Erin’s knuckles. “So thank you. For being patient and kind and just so- so- great.” Ella can’t think of a better word to use.

Erin nods. “I don’t want to change who you are. You’re perfect just the way you are. I just want to understand you more. I want to learn these things about you. This is just one of them. Your religion. I don’t want to take that from you. I don’t want to change that for you but you have to also understand where I’m coming from. I’m not a religious person. I don’t think I can be. Ella, I wonder how this could work. We don’t share the same opinions on religion and faith. And that worries me the most.” Erin takes a deep breath and looks away from Ella.

“I know.” Ella sighs.

“It’s the biggest difference between us.” Erin says with a sad sigh of her own.

The room falls into silence and Ella plays with Erin’s fingers absentmindedly. She does understand what Erin is saying and where she is coming from. Ella agrees with Erin. They don’t have the same views on religion. And it is the biggest difference.

They lay there in silence. There’s a heavy uncertainty in the room, between them, now. Ella brings Erin’s hand to her lips again. She presses a kiss to each of Erin’s fingers before opening her hand and kissing Erin’s palm.

“I think I’m gonna go home now. Shower. Have dinner.” Ella whispers.

Erin nods. She can’t help but feel something between them has changed. She doesn’t know if it’s for the better or worse. That heavy feeling that is in the room enters her chest and settles there as Ella gets out of bed and makes her way to the bedroom door.

“Bye.” Ella looks back at Erin from the door.

“Bye.” Erin mumbles and gives Ella a tight-lipped smile. Ella exits and if Erin wasn’t already laying down she would be flopped back on the bed in frustration. Instead, she just lets out a frustrated breath.

* * *

 

Ella doesn’t return to the Canadians apartment after dinner. Erin doesn’t see her again the rest of the night. She gets a text from Ella saying that she’s tired and is just going to bed. Erin sighs and pulls out her art supplies and starts on a new painting. She paints until the early morning hours, getting lost in her work, and forgetting about everything else for a while.

* * *

 

Ella gets up and gets a bowl of cereal. She makes her way to the door, across the hall, she tries the door but it’s locked. So Ella knocks.

Dri’s the one who answers the door and is surprised to see Ella standing on the other side. One, Ella more often than not spends the night in their apartment. Two, she’s not wearing a shirt. Three, she has a bowl of food in her hand.

“What are-“ Dri tries to get out.

“Where’s Erin?” Ella asks at the same time.

They both stare at each other for a few seconds.

“She’s not up yet.” Dri says. As far as she knows Erin isn’t awake yet. The bedroom door is still closed and she hasn’t seen Erin yet today.

“Oh.” Ella steps into the apartment causing Dri to take a step back.

“Come in, Ella.” Dri says sarcastically.

Ella turns around to look at Dri. “Am I not- Is it okay?” Ella asks.

“It’s fine.” Dri shakes her head. She’s never gonna understand the way Ella operates.

“So, I wanted to talk to Erin.” Ella shovels a spoonful of cereal into her mouth and raises an eyebrow at Dri.

Ella feels bad about the conversation they had yesterday. Not like she did anything wrong but she just feels bad about the whole thing. Erin didn’t do or say anything wrong either. It’s just a shitty situation that they find themselves in. She wants to see Erin and get past yesterday.

Dri shuts the apartment door and shrugs. “She’s in her room.” Dri doesn’t know what Ella wants from her.

“I think I’ll let her sleep.” Ella finishes her cereal and sets the bowl on the counter. “But-“ Ella smiles devilishly. “If I can get my boy.”

“Your boy?” Dri raises an eyebrow.

Ella brings her finger to her lips. “Shhh.” She tiptoes over to Erin’s bedroom door. Dri watches in amusement as Ella cracks the door open as quietly as possible. “Max.” She whispers. The little dog comes running over to the door and Ella smiles happily at him. He comes out and she shuts the door quietly. “Let’s let your mommy sleep.” Ella whispers to him as she picks him up.

Max wiggles his tail happily as Ella carries him. “Where’s your leash, buddy?” She asks them.

“It’s on the floor next to the couch.” Dri supplies the answer.

Ella smiles over at her. “Thanks.” She goes to get the leash and hooks Max to it. “I’m gonna take him for his walk.” Ella winks. “If anyone asks.” Ella walks over to the door with Max. She opens the door.

“Ella?” Dri asks and Ella turns back to look at her. Dri nods at her. “You’re not wearing a shirt.” She points out.

Ella looks down. She shrugs. “Guess not.” She leaves the apartment in laughter.

Dri just shakes her head and goes back to the counter, where she was before Ella showed up at the door.

* * *

 

Erin walks out of her room a few minutes after Ella leaves with Max. She rubs her eyes and yawns. She didn’t sleep that great and is feeling it this morning.

“Where’s Maxwell?” She asks when she sees Dri.

“Someone-“ Dri eyes Erin. “-came by and took _their boy_ for his morning walk.” Dri uses finger quotes around the words their boy.

Erin smiles. She loves that Ella is so good with Max. And she loves that Max loves Ella. Erin goes about making herself some breakfast.

“So, what’s going on with you two? Why was she knocking on our door this morning?” Dri asks. She doesn’t want to be nosy but she wants to make sure something crazy isn’t going on with her roommate.

Erin sighs. “Yesterday was- weird. We had a discussion about religion.”

“An argument?” Dri asks, thinking maybe they had a fight about it.

Erin spins around to look at Dri. “NO.” She says a little snappy.

“Woah, sorry.” Dri holds her hands out in front of her.

Erin sighs. “Sorry.” She mumbles. “It wasn’t an argument or a fight. It’s just- she left- and I didn’t have a good feeling about- things.” Erin shakes her head. She thinks she knows Ella pretty well now though. And the fact that she was over at her apartment already this morning, even before she was awake, is a good sign. Erin smiles brightly.

“What are you smiling about?” Dri asks.

Erin shakes her head. “Max and Ella.” Erin sighs happily. “Well, mostly Ella.”

“God, you’re in so deep.” Dri chuckles.

“I know. It’s a problem.” Erin turns back to make her breakfast.

“How so?” Dri asks.

Before Erin can reply the door opens and Max and Ella enter the apartment. Erin looks over her shoulder and smiles at the scene. Ella bending over to unhook Max from his leash. Max standing up on his hind legs to give Ella kisses on her face.

Dri turns to look too. “I see you still don’t have a shirt on.” She comments.

Ella stands up straight and looks over in Dri’s direction. “That is correct.” She smirks. Ella’s eyes wander over to Erin. She smiles and starts walking over to her.

Erin watches as Ella approaches, abs on display. “Did you go for a walk like this?” Erin asks, her eyes focus in on the shirtlessness.

Ella nods as she gets to Erin. “Yup.” Ella puts her hand on Erin’s chest. She leans up onto her toes and kisses Erin.

“Mmm.” Erin hums into the kiss. A welcome surprise. “Good morning.” She says after the kiss and grabs onto Ella’s hip. “Thanks for taking Max for a walk.” Erin says. “But don’t you think maybe you should’ve worn a shirt?”

“No. Why?” Ella smirks.

Erin rolls her head from side to side. “Uh-“ She feels silly saying out loud what she’s thinking in her mind. “-I just- you- with the abs- and showing all of Chicago.” Erin stutters out nervously.

Ella laughs. “Well, not all of Chicago. Just our neighborhood.”

“But still.” Erin shrugs and looks away.

Ella thinks it’s super cute. “You want this-“ Ella wiggles around a little bit. “-all to yourself?” She asks boldly.

Erin nods, still not looking at Ella. Ella reaches up, putting her palm on Erin’s cheek and tilting her head back to look at her. She leans in and kisses Erin sweetly.

“You two are weirdly gross.” Dri says and leaves the room.

Ella pulls away from the kiss and laughs. “That got rid of her.”

“Ella.” Erin chastises.

“What?” Ella shrugs. “How are you today?”

Erin shrugs. “A little tired. I didn’t go to bed very early and then-“ She doesn’t know if she should admit it or not. “-I didn’t sleep very well.”

Ella gives Erin a sympathetic smile. She knows how Erin feels. She didn’t sleep well either and was up super early. Ella pats at Erin’s chest and goes to sit at the island counter. “Well, what’s for breakfast, Ms. McLeod?” She asks.

Erin quirks an eyebrow at Ella. “Who said I was making you breakfast?” Erin questions.

“No one. But you will. Won’t you?” Ella smirks.

Erin rolls her eyes. “Fine.” She turns back to the counter.

Ella does a fist pump. She’s not going to tell Erin that she already had something to eat.

Erin makes the breakfast and sits down next to Ella and the two eat in peaceful silence. That is until Dri comes back in. She looks at what’s happening and stares at Ella.

“What?” Erin asks.

“You’re eating again?” Dri asks Ella.

Ella shrugs and puts more food into her mouth.

“You already ate today?” Erin asks.

Ella shrugs. “Maybe.” She mumbles around a mouthful of food.

Erin shakes her head. “You’re something else.” She figures it would be like Ella to eat two breakfasts just to get Erin to cook for her.

“What can I say? I like your cooking.” Ella says before she takes another bite.

“Well, thanks.” Erin shakes her head but smiles.

“Anyway.” Dri brings the attention back to herself. “I was thinking in my room and do you know what today’s date is?”

Ella and Erin both think about it. Erin nods. Ella’s the one to verbalize it. “August 9th. Why?”

Dri and Erin share a look. Erin smiles. “Do you want to tell her or should I?”

Dri shrugs. “You can.”

“Alright.” Erin turns towards Ella. “Today is August 9th. It’s an historic day in Canada.”

Ella scrunches up her face. “Why?”

Erin smiles happy, proud. “One year ago today was the Bronze Medal Match at the Olympics.”

Ella jaw drops in awe. She knows about that match. She might not have watched it but she knows about it. She’s heard stories from both Carm and Erin about playing in the Olympics and playing in that match. “That’s right.” Ella smiles slyly. “Congratulations?” Ella grins.

Erin swats at Ella playfully. “Don’t be a smartass.” She warns.

“I’m not.” Ella throws her hands in the air in innocence. “In all seriousness, that’s a big thing. A big accomplishment. I wish I was- oh nevermind.” Ella sighs. She’s not gonna bring up her own failed attempt with the national team. “That’s really cool. Do you have your medal?”

Erin smirks. “Yeah, I carry it with me everywhere I go.” She jokes.

“Really?” Ella asks. That seems like a strange thing to take everywhere.

“No.” Erin laughs. “It’s at home. In Vancouver.”

“Oh.” Ella looks down at the floor. That makes sense. If Erin had it with her she would have probably seen it by now. Ella doesn’t know what she was thinking.

“You thought I just travel with it or what?” Erin teases Ella. “It’s at home, safe and sound.” She squeezes Ella’s thigh with her left hand.

“I- I just- nevermind.” Ella stutters awkwardly.

Erin doesn’t want Ella to feel bad. She pulls Ella into an embrace and presses a kiss to the top of her head. “You’re goofy.” Erin chuckles. It’s not quite what she wants to say but it will suffice for now.

Erin lets the girl go and Ella looks over at Erin and bites her lip. “What?” Erin asks.

“Maybe I- maybe I can see it one day.” Ella says timidly. Thoughts go through her head about going to Vancouver one day when she can afford it and visiting all the people that she knows that live there. Emily, and Carm, and Erin. Maybe she can see all their medals.

“You’d have to go to Vancouver.” Dri says, reentering the conversation.

“Right.” That’s what she means. Ella looks over at Erin. Erin nods and gives Ella a tight-lipped smile. She knows what Ella means.

“Maybe. One day.” Erin says hopefully. She squeezes Ella’s leg again and goes back to eating her breakfast.

* * *

 

“You ready for this?” Ella asks.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Erin shrugs.

“You’ll do great. We’ve practiced all morning. You’re always great. You have an amazing voice.” Ella grabs Erin’s hip and pulls her towards her. “I’m glad we took the camera and are doing this alone. I don’t know if I could do this if someone was standing there filming.” Ella says quietly.

“I know the feeling. And you’ll be fine. You’ve got the songs down. It will go well. One take.” Erin tries to instill a little confidence in Ella as well as herself.

The little recording space is all set up. The camera is focused and ready to go. It’s a private, intimate little space and that feeling resonates throughout the tiny room. Ella grabs the guitar and sits down. She starts strumming around and waits for Erin to get seated and ready.

Erin hits record on the camera and goes around it to take her seat. She looks over at Ella and asks if she’s ready. Ella starts playing the intro to the first song.

Erin stops the camera.

“Ya know, I don’t think that could have gone any better.” Ella says once they are finished.

“Except for when you sped the song up.” Erin teases.

“Shut it, McLeod.” Ella pouts.

“Oh, come on. I’m just teasing.” Erin reaches for the guitar and takes it from Ella. She sets it back in its case and closes up the case.

Ella takes the camera off the tripod and goes over to the chair she was sitting on. She goes back to the beginning of the recording. “You wanna watch this?” She asks Erin.

“Sure. Just a sec.” Erin gathers her things together and goes over to Ella and raises an eyebrow at her.

Ella holds her arms out to the side. “Sit.”

Erin smirks and sits on Ella’s lap. Ella brings her arms around Erin and holds the camera so they both can see and hits play.

Ella smiles as soon as the recording starts. They look good and sound good, she thinks. “We should start a band.” Ella comments outload.

“Shh.” Erin hushes her. “I’m trying to listen.”

Ella smiles. More at Erin shushing her than at the video but as it plays on the smile on her face only grows. She sees the way Erin looks at her when she was looking down and focusing on the guitar playing. She sees the way they lock eyes at certain parts. And she sees the way she looks at Erin when Erin isn’t looking. Ella didn’t know her face looked like that. She didn’t know she looked so caught up and enthralled with Erin. So smitten. But that’s exactly what she sees as she watches the recording. Ella bites her lip and stays quiet for the remainder of the video.

The recording ends and Erin turns on Ella’s lap to look at her. “Look at us.” She grins, delighted. Erin looks directly into Ella’s eyes.

Ella nods. “Yeah.” She mumbles.

Erin leans in first and Ella meets her halfway for a slow kiss. Ella brings her free hand up to Erin’s cheek, caressing her face gently.

Erin tilts her head a little, changing the kiss, tugging on Ella’s bottom lip, before releasing it with a pop. “We have practice.” Erin reminds Ella. She doesn’t want to lose track of time. She doesn’t want to get too carried away. She doesn’t want to start something she can’t finish.

Ella groans. “I know.” She totally doesn’t want to go to practice right now. “And I have to return the camera.” She pats at Erin’s cheek. “This was fun though.”

Erin squints at Ella. “Making out in a recording studio?”

“No.” Ella laughs. “Well, yes. But, I meant filming these episodes with you. When I started with Carm that was fun and all. But it’s even better with you.”

“That’s what she said.” Erin can’t help herself.

“Stop.” Ella blushes and shakes her head. “I’m serious. I’ve had a blast filming the episodes with you. I couldn’t ask for a better partner. Eh- er- you know what I mean. We should do this again next year.” Ella says awkwardly.

Erin smiles brightly. “Definitely.”  She pecks Ella’s lips once more and gets up. “But we gotta go now. Practice. Practice. Practice.” Erin chants and wiggles and dances around the small room. Ella laughs. “Practice. Practice. Practice.” She chants some more.

“You’re so cute.” Ella says as she packs up the camera and tripod.

“I try.” Erin smirks smugly.

Ella rolls her eyes. “Let’s go to practice.” She leads Erin out of the small studio room.


	17. Chapter 17

It’s a jam packed day. First up is the Lupus Walk at nine in the morning. And then there is the last home game at six that evening. Ella won’t be complaining about having to sit around and wait all day for the game. There is plenty to do.

The girls all pile into Ella’s car and head to the park for the walk. They all walk together as a team. The girls are more than happy to be there and support the cause. At the end, they all get something to drink and gather to chat and talk amongst themselves before dispersing and doing their own things until they have to be at the field for the game.

* * *

 

Ella gets the starts for the last home game. She’s proud of that fact. She’s super excited about the game. Most of her family is coming to the game to watch her play in the home season finale.

She gets subbed off in the 55th minute though. She walks off the field with a wave to the fans. A thank you to them for coming out to watch and a thank you for the round of applause she receives. It’s always great to play in Chicago. In her hometown, where she’s played on and off for so many years now.

Ella stretches and sits on the bench observing the remainder of the game. It ends in a 3-3 draw. She goes out and shakes hands with some of the Sky Blue players and gives encouragement to some of her teammates. But Ella has one goal in mind right now. To get to Erin.

But Erin evades her. Not intentionally.

Erin goes over to the fans and starts signing some autographs after the game. There’s only a few. She’s about to head to the locker room when she sees someone jogging towards her. “Yes?” Erin questions, with a raised eyebrow, as Ella approaches.

“You need to come with me.” Ella demands.

Erin frowns and narrows her eyes at Ella. “Why?”

“Just do it.” Ella grabs Erin elbow and tugs her along.

Erin goes willingly. She smiles when she spots Ella’s older sister in the stands. The one she met at one of their other home games. There are a number of people standing around her and Erin knows what’s about to happen.

Seredy smiles knowingly at Ella as she comes to a halt in front of her family. Ella lets go of Erin’s elbow once they are standing in front of her siblings. “Hey guys.” Ella mumbles. Ella’s sister’s share a look.

Liza takes in Erin for the first time. “So, Erin, right?” Liza asks.

“I see my reputation proceeds me.” Erin jokes.

Ella frowns and her sister’s laugh.

“What reputation?” Tyson asks. “I don’t get it.”

The sister’s laugh and Ella blushes. Erin looks over at Ella quickly. “Goalkeeper. Canadian. Olympic Bronze Medalist.” Erin says quickly, trying to cover.

Tyson nods, taking that as the answer to his question. But he still doesn’t know why his sisters were laughing.

“Anyway. How are you all tonight?” Erin asks politely since Ella hasn’t bothered to rejoin the little conversation.

Tyson takes over the conversation. He starts talking about the game and how it ended in a tie and talks about anything soccer completely oblivious to what’s going on around him. Erin listens intently to what he has to say.

What’s going on around him is that Ella is switching from looking at her feet and looking at her sisters. Her sisters are whispering things to each other and Ella doesn’t like it. She knows they are whispering about her or about Erin or about her and Erin.

“Well, I’ll let you have a little time with your sister. I gotta go clean all the stinky off of me.” Erin smiles at the three Masar siblings. “It was nice meeting you tonight, Liza. And you Tyson.” Erin runs off without another word.

“How does she know my name?” Tyson wonders out loud.

Ella groans audibly. Liza and Seredy chuckle at his side.

“We didn’t exchange names. Ella didn’t introduce me.” Tyson ponders on.

“Just stop before you hurt your brain.” Seredy says to Tyson. “I gotta go find Rob and get the girls. Gotta get them home and get them to bed. Liza tells me the three of you are going out.”

“Yep.” Ella confirms. “I just gotta shower and change and we can go. I’ll see you and the girls at the end of the season.” Ella says to Seredy.

“I’m sure they’ll be thrilled when I tell them.” Seredy smiles. “Have a good evening, guys.”

“Thanks.” Ella nods. “I’m gonna get changed. I’ll be right back.” Ella hurries off to the locker room.

* * *

 

They are at a restaurant in downtown Chicago and have just ordered their meals when Tyson brings up the game again. “How come you only got to play 50 some minutes?” He asks Ella.

Ella shrugs. “You’d have to ask the coach.” She doesn’t have an answer. “I haven’t been playing that many minutes lately. And when I start I’m the first one to come off.” Ella looks to the right, out the window. She watches the pedestrians that are walking by on the sidewalk.

“Huh.” Tyson doesn’t get it. And the sub that went on for Ella didn’t do anything too special in his opinion but he might be biased.

“Can we not talk about the game?” Ella asks.

“Sure.” Tyson nods and takes a sip of his drink. “What do you want to talk about then?”

Liza nudges her sister in the side. “What?” Ella looks over at her and asks.

“I think I know what Ella might want to talk about.” Liza hints.

Ella folds her arms over her chest and pouts. “Stop it.”

“Stop what? I didn’t say anything.” Liza smirks.

“No. But I know what you’re thinking. So stop it.” Ella mumbles back.

“Are you two doing that weird twin thing? What’s going on? What am I missing?” Tyson complains. “I feel like I’ve been out of the loop all evening.”

Liza smirks across the table at her older brother. “Ella has a new love interest.”

Ella groans. “Why do you have to say it like that?”

“Really? Who? Anyone I know?” Tyson asks.

“No. Well-“ Ella bites her lip. “Why does everyone ask if it’s someone they know?”

Tyson shrugs. “Looking for a connection.” He looks to Liza. “How long have you known about this?” He actually points his finger at her.

“Not long. Like a week.” Liza looks over at her twin sister.

All eyes are on Ella. “What?” Ella throws her hands in the air.

“I want details.” Tyson says. Ella rolls her eyes. He’s too much like their father sometimes. “Does Ser know? Am I the last to know about this new love interest?” Tyson asks question after question.

“Well, of the siblings. Yes. But no one else knows beside this one.” Ella nods her head at the sister. “And Seredy.”

“Spill the beans, kid.” Tyson leans forward in his seat eager to learn the details.

Liza sits there patiently. She’s kind of enjoying watching Ella squirm in her seat at the attention their brother is giving her.

“Ah- so- like I didn’t want to tell anyone until I knew it was the real deal but I guess it is.” Ella says awkwardly.

Tyson laughs. “Come on. I’m gonna be an old man before you come out with it.”

The wrong choice of words but Tyson doesn’t know that.

Ella sinks into her seat.

“Ty, no more jokes.” Liza says seriously.

“Okay.” Tyson looks between his sisters.

Ella swallows the lump in her throat. “So you know- like how after the game- and you were talking to- uh Erin- and Ser and Liza were whispering and stuff-“ Ella stutters.

“They were?” Tyson really wasn’t paying attention. He was too busy talking soccer with Erin. He looks to Liza. “Why were you whispering? What were you whispering about?”

Liza looks over at Ella. They share a look and Ella nods. “Erin.” Liza tells him.

The confusion is clear on Tyson’s face. “What?” He mumbles. He thinks back on the time after the game. How Ella came over to them with Erin in tow. The reputation joke that he didn’t seem to understand. How Erin knew his name when it wasn’t said out loud. All the dots finally connect in his head. “Dude.” His face lights up. “Really?”

Ella nods and looks down, biting her lips.

“That’s so cool.” Tyson’s face lights up in excitement. “For real?”

“Wow, someone’s excited.” Liza chuckles.

“Yes, for real. We’ve become really close and have gone on a few dates and stuff.” Ella mumbles as her cheeks heat up.

Tyson raises an eyebrow at his little sister. “And stuff?”

“Shut up.” Ella mumbles and looks out the window again.

“Like that’s so cool though. Canadian goalkeeper, Erin McLeod. That’s so cool.” He mutters.

“Calm down, Ty.” Liza chuckles some more. She can’t believe him right now. He’s just thinking with his soccer brain and not his supportive big brother brain.

“Sorry, El.” Tyson sighs. “I just- I didn’t think- you know what nevermind. If you’re happy, I’m happy.” He smiles and holds his hand out across the table, reaching for Ella’s hand. Ella holds her hand out and Tyson takes it in his. “I’m glad you told me. I don’t know much about her aside from the soccer stuff but she seemed nice today when we met.”

“Thanks Ty. And Erin is great.” That brings a genuine smile to Ella’s face. Ella feels good knowing that all her siblings know about Erin now.

“Ah, perfect timing.” Tyson says as the waitress comes by with their meals. “I’m starving. I haven’t had anything to eat since lunch.” Tyson puts his napkin on his lap as his plate is set in front of him. “Thank you.” He tells the waitress.

“Why didn’t you have something to eat at the game?” Ella asks.

Tyson eyes his food hungrily. “Cuz I was waiting for this.” He refers to his giant steak.

Ella and Liza laugh.

* * *

 

The team has the day off. It’s the middle of the afternoon and Ella is asleep. She had come over to Erin’s and they were watching tv and Ella feel asleep. She was so comfortable laying on the couch, on her side, with her head in Erin’s lap, and Erin running her fingers through Ella’s hair that she fell asleep.

Erin has been sitting on the couch patiently. Ella’s head resting gently in her lap. It’s been about a half an hour that she’s been sitting there with her favorite girl sleeping peacefully. Erin has her left hand on Ella’s hip. The other on the arm of the couch. She doesn’t dare move and wake Ella up. Erin alternates between watching what’s on the tv screen and watching Ella. She feels extremely lucky that Ella’s wants to spend her free time with her. It’s been on the increase in recent weeks.

Ella could do anything that she wanted on their days off but most of the time she spends them with Erin now. Erin feels so lucky that that’s the case. Ella could do something with her brother or sister or nieces on her days off but she doesn’t. She stays at the apartment building and wants to be wherever Erin is.

Erin hears Ella sigh in her sleep and feels her twitch a little bit. She presses against Ella’s hip slightly with her hand and cranes her neck to try and get a look at Ella’s face. When she does she sees one eye open, blink a couple time, and then close again.

“How long was I asleep?” Ella says with a hoarse voice.

“About thirty minutes.” Erin says softly, leaning back against the back of the couch.

Ella hums, content. “What do you want to do tonight.?” Ella asks and rolls onto her back. She opens her eyes and looks up at Erin.

Erin brightens at the idea of spending the rest of the day with Ella. She has a few ideas for what they can do. But one sticks out in particular. “Tonight?” Erin raises an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Ella nods.

“Well, I have an idea.” Erin smirks.

“What is it?” Ella asks, perking up a little.

Erin bites her bottom lip. They’ve been on a few dates but each time she asks she gets nervous. Erin licks her lips and takes a deep breath. “Will you go on a date with me? Tonight?”

Ella pushes herself up into a sitting position, sitting sideways on Erin’s lap. She wraps her left hand around the back of Erin’s neck and pulls her in for a heated kiss.

Ella is the one to pull away first for a much needed breath of air. She rests her forehead against Erin’s.

“Is that a yes?” Erin asks softly.

Ella nods and reconnects their lips.

“What do you want to do tonight?” Erin asks after a series of kisses.

Ella tucks some loose hairs from Erin’s ponytail behind her left ear. “You brought up the date. Shouldn’t you be the planner?” Ella raises a challenging eyebrow.

“I will.” Erin shrugs. “But I want to know what you want to do.”

Ella thinks for a few seconds. “What if we go down to Navy Pier?” Erin makes a funny face. “What? You don’t like that idea. We can do something else if you don’t like it but you asked what I wanted to do. Do you want my suggestion or not? I mean we could do something else but that’s what I thought of first. I thought it might be kind of cool. But I don’t know.”

Erin grins. She just thinks Ella is the cutest was she’s rambling. She didn’t think Ella would come up with something so public for them to do. But if that’s what she wants Erin will give it to her. She leans forward and kisses Ella quickly. “You need to slow down sometimes.” Erin tells her calmly. Ella nods and ducks her head.

She’s been around Ella enough to know that she gets a little crazy sometimes. Her thoughts going a thousand miles a minute. And her words doing the same thing. Erin doesn’t know if it’s because of nerves or uncomfortableness or what but sometimes Ella just starts talking and doesn’t know when to shut up. Most of the time, she finds it endearing.

Erin lifts Ella’s chin with her index finger and pecks her lips quickly. “Navy Pier sounds great. How about you go home and change and do whatever and I will pick you up at six.”

Ella looks down at what she’s wearing and looks back to Erin. “What? I can’t wear this?” She grins, joking.

“I don’t think so, Ms. Masar. We’re not going to a gym on our date.” She says referring to Ella’s sweatpants and tank top. Erin squeezes Ella’s hip. “Go get ready. I have to shower and change too.”

Ella rolls her head to the side. “Fine.” She doesn’t really want to change but knows she has to. Ella thinks she should have suggested that they just stay in. That way she wouldn’t have to change. She gets up off of Erin’s lap though and goes around the couch to the back. Erin follows Ella with her eyes. “I’ll see you at six then.” Ella leans over the back of the couch and kisses Erin on the forehead.

Erin grins. “Bye.” She whispers.

* * *

 

Erin picks the restaurants and they have dinner when they first get to Navy Pier. “What do you want to do now?” Erin asks as they are walking out the restaurants. She wants to do all the things Ella wants to do.

They walk down the pier side by side. It’s a beautiful August night. Not too hot and there is a breezy off the water. “How about we walk around for a little while. Look around in the shops. We could play mini-golf. But I want to get cotton candy before the night is over. And I want to ride the Ferris Wheel after dark.” Ella has an idea of how she wants the evening to go.

Erin glances over at Ella. “Why after dark?” It seems like an oddly specific request from Ella.

Ella looks down at the ground, hiding her face from Erin. “Cuz it’s more romantic.” She mumbles quietly.

Erin doesn’t quite hear what Ella said. She bumps her hip into Ella’s. “What’s that?” She smiles.

Ella takes a quick look at Erin before averting her eyes again. She pulls at her right ear awkwardly. “It’s more romantic at night.” Ella says a little louder than before. Her face turning bright red.

Erin bites her bottom lip. She wants to kiss Ella right then and there. Erin’s not really one for public displays of affection but there’s just something about Ella that makes her want to throw that to the wind and just go for it. She knows Ella wouldn’t like it though and wouldn’t want her to. Instead, Erin wraps her left arm around Ella’s shoulders and pulls her into a side hug. She doesn’t say anything. Erin doesn’t have to.

Ella looks up at Erin quickly, looking right into her eyes. They share a look before Ella looks down at the ground again as they walk on. Ella reaches up and pushes Erin’s left hand off of her shoulder.

Erin takes that as a sign that Ella doesn’t want to be touched in public. So she removes her arm from around Ella and sticks her hands into her pants pockets. Erin wouldn’t admit it to Ella but it stings a little. It’s rejection and it hurts.

But, Erin feels a tap on her wrist a few seconds later. She looks down and sees Ella’s fingers as they wrap around her wrist. Erin pulls her hand out of her pocket and looks over at Ella. Ella slides her hand into Erin’s, slipping her fingers into the spaces between Erin’s fingers, locking their hands together. Erin gives Ella’s hand a squeeze and smiles over at Ella. Ella isn’t looking at Erin. She, instead, has her eyes on the shop to their left and leads Erin towards it. Erin just continues to smile and follows wherever Ella leads. More than happy to have Ella’s hand in hers.

They go to a few shops on the pier and then go play mini golf. It gets dark about halfway thru their round of mini golf and Erin is really looking forward to the Ferris Wheel ride that is still to come. The round of mini golf is, of course, a competition. It’s the competitor in Ella. No sport can just be casual. It’s all in or nothing.

Ella takes the win and the bragging rights by two strokes. “I kicked your ass, McLeod.” Ella gloats as they return their putters.

“Nah-uh. I don’t know about here in Illinois but where I come from a two shot win is not an ass kicking. Anything but. A few shots that could have gone either way for either of us and I could have pulled out the win.” Erin argues her point.

“But you didn’t. I did. I won.” Ella smiles happily.

Erin shakes her head. “Today. But I want a rematch sometime. We’ll see who wins then.”

“You’re on.” Ella agrees with every intention of beating Erin again the next time they play mini golf.

“What’s up next?” Erin changes the subject.

Ella ponders the question for a moment. There are two things she wants from tonight yet. Well, maybe three. “Ferris Wheel?” Ella suggests.

“Okay. Let’s go.” Erin holds her hand out in the direction of the Ferris Wheel letting Ella lead the way. Ella skips a few steps ahead of Erin before turning around and coming back to her. She takes Erin’s hand and pulls her along.

Erin is quick to fall into step next to Ella as they take the brief walk to the Ferris Wheel entrance. She’s having a great evening. A great evening with Ella. It’s been a fun, easy-going date. What could be better?

They wait in line for the Ferris Wheel. It’s not more than five minutes but Ella gets antsy and she starts bouncing around back and forth. “You’re really looking forward to this, huh?”

Ella looks to Erin. She nods and smiles. “Yeah.”

The Ferris Wheel attendant lets them onto their capsule. Ella sits to the right of Erin and takes Erin’s hand in hers right away. The Ferris Wheel moves once they are seated. It stops and starts until all the other passengers are on and then the ride starts up and makes its slow revolution. They go down the front of the Ferris Wheel, underneath, and then start going back up.

“You ready?” Ella asks as they near the top.

Erin turns to looks at Ella. “For what?”

Ella puts her hand on Erin’s thigh and leans in. “For this.” Ella locks her lips around Erin’s in a passionate kiss. Erin reaches up and puts her left hand on Ella’s cheek, holding her close as they kiss. Their kiss continues as the Ferris Wheel reaches the top. Ella pulls back when the Ferris Wheel is about halfway down the front side again. She licks her lips and smiles shyly at Erin.

Erin just looks at Ella as the capsule descends towards the ground. Ella squeezes Erin’s hand. She can feel Erin’s eyes on her. “Look out at the view. Isn’t it amazing?”

“The view I have right now is amazing.” Erin cheeses.

Ella glances at Erin. “You’re such a dork.”

Erin shrugs.

The Ferris Wheel gets to the bottom and goes around one more time before it starts to stop and let riders off. Ella and Erin get off when it’s their turn. “Time for cotton candy?” Erin asks.

Ella grins and nods. Happy that Erin remembered what she wanted.

“Okay.” Erin leads them over to a stand and orders and pays for a cotton candy for Ella and a pretzel for herself.

“For you.” Erin hands the cotton candy over to Ella when the food attendant hands it to her. Erin waits for her pretzel. When she gets her pretzel, Erin spins around and holds her hand out. “Home?”

Ella takes Erin’s hand. “Yes.” She says around a bite of cotton candy.

They walk back to the apartment, eating their snacks, and holding hands. They get to Ella’s door and stop.

“Sooo?” Erin shifts back and forth wondering what to do. It’s a bit odd dropping your date off when you live across the hall. And when your date frequently spends the night at her place.

“Let me change. I’ll be over in a bit.” Ella answers all of Erin’s unasked questions.

“Okay.” Erin wasn’t sure if Ella was going to go into her apartment or if she was going to stay overnight at her apartment. She wasn’t sure if she should say goodnight to Ella and give her a goodnight kiss. She wasn’t sure quite what to do but Ella answered those uncertainties for her.

Erin waits until Ella enters her apartment before going over and unlocking her own apartment door and going inside. Max greets her at the door. “Let’s go for a quick walk, buddy.” Erin hooks Max to his leash and they go for their walk. Erin hopes to be back before Ella comes over but she’s not sure she will be. She leaves the door unlocked, knowing that Ella probably won’t be too long. Either way, Ella can get in if she needs to.

Erin thinks about their date as she walks Max. It was perfect for her. Ella surprised her in a few ways. All good surprises though. She was scared for a little bit that she would do something wrong, especially when she put her arm around Ella. But Ella somehow, someway made everything all right. Ella made the night really special. It’s a date night that Erin won’t ever forget.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this written and done for over a month now. Even before i wrote/finished the previous two chapters.  
> So, this is a long one. I hope no one’s complaining. Haha. But I didn't want to break it up into two parts. I think it's better as one big chapter. Nearly 10,000 words.  
> And somehow in all this I managed to make cheesecake sexual. Hope no one’s complaining about that either.

The team had a light practice during the late morning hours and then a break for lunch. That was followed by a weight session and then walking a few cool down laps around the track as a team. Overall, the team is feeling good. There’s only one game to go and the end of the season feeling has started to kick in.

Well, mostly everyone is in a good mood. The team is dismissed and everyone goes to shower and change. Ella goes to her locker and grabs the basketball that she keeps there. She likes to shoot it around in the gym sometimes.

Ella has been in the gym for about fifteen minutes when she hears the door close. She continues with her shoot around regardless. She doesn’t care who it is or what they want. She’s focused on her shots. But, Ella is pretty sure she knows who it is without having to look over and see her.

“You gonna give up soccer for basketball?” Erin asks jokingly, standing on the three-point line on Ella’s right side.

Ella frowns. That’s not a bad idea. She focuses in on the basketball hoop and takes her next shot. It goes in and she grabs the rebound. Ella finally looks over at Erin. “What are you doing here?” She huffs out grumpily. She just wants to be alone right now. Ella turns away from Erin and takes a jump shot.

Erin is a little surprised at the salty response she’s getting from Ella right now but she forges forward. “I just wanted to see what you were up to. I saw you grab your ball.” Erin shrugs like it’s no big deal. But she’s a little worried now that she sees Ella and the mood she’s in.

“Maybe I should switch.” Ella tells Erin flatly. She thinks maybe Erin has the right idea. Quit soccer for basketball. Ella is frustrated with the amount of playing time she’s getting. She feels like she should be a starter and play the whole match or a large majority of the match. But that’s not happening anymore. As the season has gone on her minutes have gone down.

Ella knocks down another shot.

Erin wants to roll her eyes at Ella being so dramatic. She’s never seen her like this. Acting like a spoiled child that isn’t getting what it wants. “Are you serious?” Erin asks.

Ella shrugs and puts up another shot. This one misses and rebounds off the rim towards Erin. All Erin has to do is step to her right and the ball bounces directly to her. She scoops it up and puts it under her arm.

Ella looks over at Erin. She has her ball and she knows she’s not going to get it back that easily. Ella sighs, her shoulders slump, and she walks over to Erin. “I’m committed to soccer.” Ella mumbles, looking down at the floor. She knows she is committed. Deep down to her core, it’s all about soccer. It’s just surface frustration that is getting the best of her. She also knows that it would never work trying to playing basketball at this point.

Erin senses the defeated attitude. “Is this about the amount of playing time you’re getting?”

Ella nods. “Yeah.” She says to the floor. “I used to play basketball in high school but I’m not tall enough to be competitive on a pro or semi-pro team. That’s why I went with soccer. Not that I had much of a choice. Being vertically challenged and all.”

Erin laughs lightly and that brings Ella’s eyes up from the floor and they meet Erin’s. Erin smiles for Ella. “Well, I’m gladly you’re not taller and it was soccer and not basketball.”

Ella bites her lip. The things Erin says sometimes. They make her insides go all wonky like they are doing right now.

Erin feels bad for Ella because she knows how hard Ella works for an opportunity to play. But she knows at the end of the day, soccer is about playing your best players to win the game. “Let’s go.” Erin turns around to leave the gym.

“But, I’m not done yet. Can I have my ball back?” Ella says at an exiting Erin.

“Nope.” Erin gets to the door and pushes it open. She turns around to look back at Ella and raises an eyebrow. “You’re my ride.” She says and walks out.

Ella stands in her spot a little stunned. “I’m not done.” She yells just before the door closes and she can’t see Erin anymore. “Come back here.” She yells uselessly. Ella can’t believe Erin just left with her ball. She wasn’t done shooting the ball around. It may not have seemed like it but it was helping to work out the frustration. She going to have to figure out another way to work out her frustrations.

Ella looks around. There’s nothing more in the gym that she can do without a ball. She huffs and runs over to the door Erin exited from. Erin isn’t anywhere in sight so Ella goes back to the locker room hoping to find the girl there.

There are a few girls left in the locker room. “Is Erin in here?”

Ella gets a few shakes of the heads and no’s in reply. She gathers her things quickly, foregoing a shower, and goes out in search of Erin.

Ella goes out to the parking lot and spot Erin sitting on the hood of her car. She marches over. “You know I wasn’t done in the gym.”

“Oh really. You seem done now.” Erin smirks.

“Haha funny. Not much I could do without a ball.” Ella grumbles.

“Well, you can have your ball back after I have returned home safely.” Erin levels with Ella.

Ella stands there for a moment staring at Erin. “Fine. But, you know, I was trying to work out my frustrations.” She grunts.

“And?” Erin prompts for more.

“I wasn’t finished. Now I’m gonna have to figure out a different way to get rid of them.” Ella huffs and walks away from Erin to get in the car.

Erin smirks. “I might be able to help with that.” She hops off the hood of the car and goes over to the passenger’s side door. She looks over the top of the car at Ella who is stood frozen in her place staring back at Erin.

Erin watches as Ella stares right at her. She bites her bottom lip and anxiously waits for what Ella’s next move is going to be. Ella shakes her head. “Is that a no?” Erin asks. Ella shakes her head again and looks down at her keys. She goes to press the unlock button. “Or were you just shaking your head? Cuz you did it twice. So I wasn’t sure.” Erin continues. She loves messing with Ella.

The car alarm starts going off. Erin widens her eyes at Ella, then looks around. There aren’t too many people around but the ones that are all look over at them.

Ella looks down at her keys, fumbling with them, trying to get the alarm to stop sounding. She must have pushed the wrong button when she went to unlock the car. She finally gets the alarm to shut off and unlocks the car in her flustered, frustrated state. They both get in the car and Ella turns it on. “I’ll let you think about it on the way home. Just let me know what you decide.” Erin says as she buckles herself into her seat.

Ella manages to buckle up and put the car into gear so they can get back to the apartment. Either way, Ella wants Erin out of her car. She thinks about Erin’s proposition all the way back to the apartment. Ella bites the inside of her cheek as she drives, trying to make a decision.

She pulls her car up outside the apartment and puts it into park. She gets out quickly, and goes around the back of the car, and over to the passenger’s side. Ella grabs Erin by the wrist as she is getting out of the car.

“Oh, you want your ball back.” Erin reaches down to the floorboards by her feet for the basketball but can’t grab it with one hand. Ella pulls on Erin’s arm and pulls her out of the car. Erin barely gets the door closed before Ella is pulling her up the steps and into the building. Ella leads them to her apartment. She checks the door, luckily it’s unlocked, seeing as her previous attempt with keys was an epic failure Ella is thankful she doesn’t have to try to unlock this door.

Ella pulls Erin into her apartment and shuts the door. Erin sets her bag down by the door and she’s about to ask Ella what the rush is. But she doesn’t get a chance before Ella is tugging on her arm again and pulling her to the bedroom. Ella slams the door shut and pushes Erin up against it. Erin smirks. “So, that’s a yes.” She says like a brat. Ella grabs the back of Erin’s neck and attacks her with her lips.

Erin puts her hands on each of Ella’s hips and walks her backwards over to the bed as they kiss.

* * *

 

Ella lays on the back with Erin on her side next to her after a very hot and heavy make out session. “Hey.” Ella rubs her hand up and down Erin’s arm. “I’m sorry about before. At the gym.”

Erin lifts her head off of Ella’s pillow. “It’s okay. You were just upset and frustrated.” Erin makes patterns with her finger on the shirt covering Ella’s stomach.

“No.” Ella won’t accept Erin’s attempt to just glaze this over. Ella was out of line and she knows it. She cranes in neck until she can reach Erin’s lips. She kisses her gently and brings her hand up and rests it on the side of Erin’s face. “I shouldn’t have treated you like that. You deserve better from me.”

Erin sucks her bottom lip into her mouth. She just wants to tell Ella it’s okay, that she understands, but she knows Ella has a point too. Mostly, she just wants to tell Ella that she loves her. But she bites her tongue, literally and doesn’t say what she wants. Erin brushes some of Ella’s hair back and kisses her instead.

“How’s that frustration level now?” Erin smirks.

Ella pats her hand against Erin’s cheek. “I’m a different kind of frustrated now. A good kind though. If that’s possible.” Ella feels the tips of her ears heat up with the admission.

“I know the feeling.” Erin chuckles. “Too bad I showered after practice.”

“Erin.” Ella whines out.

“What?” Erin shrugs. She watches Ella as Ella watches her. They lay there like that for a while quietly.

After a little bit, though, Ella can’t take the silence. She rolls onto her side and faces Erin directly. “What do you want to do tonight?” Ella asks in a whisper.

“Hmm.” Erin hums. She licks her lips. “No offense, but you need to take a shower before we do anything. You stinky.” Erin scrunches up her face all goofily.

Ella smacks at Erin’s arm and Erin laughs. “Just telling it like it is.” But she leans in for a quick kiss. “But, I guess, after you shower-“ Erin sticks out her tongue. “-we can eat. I’m staarrrrving.” Ella laughs. “And then I don’t know. I don’t care what happens as long as you’re with me.”

“Stay here tonight.” Ella says bluntly.

“I’ll have to get Max. And he needs to go for his evening walk.” Erin thinks everything over.

“I know that, silly. I know the routine. Other than all that. Stay here. Sleep over tonight.” Ella insists.

Erin pretends to thinks about it hard. She screws up her face in fake overconcentration. “I don’t know.” She says like Ella needs to propose something more before she will say yes.

“Come on. We can do whatever you want. Please.” Ella begs. “Go get Max while I shower. I’ll make dinner for us. And we can take Max for his evening walk together. Please.”

Erin rolls into Ella, pushing her onto her back and then rolls on top of her. “No need to beg.” She smirks and kisses Ella soundly. “You had me at stay here tonight.”

Ella rolls her eyes. “You’re such a dork.”

“Yup.” Erin wiggles her eyebrows at Ella before getting off of her and out of bed. Erin goes over to the bedroom door. “Now go shower, stinky. I’ll be back with my little man.” She winks at Ella and leaves.

Ella just lies in bed for a few minutes with her hands on her stomach and a huge smile on her face. She almost can’t believe it. Even after the crappy day she had and all the crappy frustrating emotions she has a huge smile on her face. And all because of that girl. That girl that makes her happy and gives her all sorts of good feelings. Ella sighs happily before getting out of bed to take a shower.

* * *

 

Ella wakes up the next morning with Erin’s body wrapped around hers from behind. She loves it. That they can sleep like this all cuddled together, nice and snug. It’s a feeling Ella’s never had before. The feeling of wanting to just be close to someone while she sleeps. And Ella finds such comfort in Erin’s embrace.

Ella hears a yawn from Erin and knows that she is awake or at the very least waking up. She wiggles around and turns over to face Erin. She presses her lips to Erin’s forehead. “Good morning.” Ella whispers, trying not to be too loud.

“Mmm.” Erin hums and opens her eyes. “Best way to wake up.” She half smiles. Ella tucks her chin to her chest, shy. Erin lifts it with a finger so she can kiss Ella good morning. “That’s better.” Erin smiles. “How’d you sleep?”

“Great.” Ella bites her lip.

“Me too.” Erin wrinkles up her nose. “You ready to kick today’s ass.”

Ella grins from ear to ear and nods.

“Good. Cuz I gotta pee.” Erin rolls away from Ella and hops out of bed and hurries to the bathroom.

Ella shakes her head at Erin and gets out of bed. She slips Erin’s sweatshirt on over her head. “Hey, Max. Momma was in a hurry, huh? She shouldn’t have drank all that water right before bed last night.” Ella talks to the dog. He looks up at her with a smile and wags his tail. “Wanna go for a morning walk with me?” She asks. Max walks out of the bedroom and into the open area of the apartment. He goes right over to the door. Ella grabs his leash from off of the back of a chair where she left it last night from their evening walk and hooks Max to it. “Let’s go buddy.”

Erin comes out of the bathroom and goes back into Ella’s room but she doesn’t find Ella or Max. She goes out into the living room to look for them. They aren’t in the living room or kitchen either. Erin shrugs and goes over to the fridge. She gets a box of cereal off the top and a bowl out of the cupboard next to the fridge. Erin pours herself a bowl of cereal and adds milk. She goes over the table and sits down to eat her breakfast.

Taryn comes out of her room rubbing her eyes. “Erin?” She lets her eyes focus on the woman sitting at her table. “You’re still here. Where’s Ella?” She asks as she notices that Erin is alone.

Erin shrugs. “Don’t know. I think she took Max for his morning walk.” Erin takes another bite of her cereal.

“Cute.” Taryn smiles and gets some breakfast of her own and joins Erin at the table.

* * *

 

Ella thought she was in a better mood today than she was yesterday. She thought that her bad mood and frustration was a temporary one-day thing. But that all changes at morning practice. Ella is determined to get her minutes up and she focuses extra and tries extra hard at practice but nothing goes her way. Two of her shots on goal hit the post and the other three that she manages to get off are all snatched up by Erin or Taylor depending on which was in the goal.

Ella finds herself again frustrated after practice. With herself. With her preparation. With her technique. With a lot of things about the way she’s playing right now. She’s starting to think Rory has a real reason to bench her.

After practice, Ella asks the equipment manager if she can have a bag of balls and some cones, that she wants to get in a little extra work and she promises to return them when she is done.

Erin is finishing up a meeting with the goalkeeper’s coach when she sees Ella working all alone on the other end of the field. She jogs over to the goal and starts shagging balls and sending them back in Ella’s direction. Ella continues with her extra workout and Erin doesn’t say anything to her. Erin just collects the balls in and around the net and sends them back to Ella. She doesn’t try to block any of Ella’s shot or encourage her in any way. Erin’s just a silent observer who happens to be good at returning the balls to where they are coming from.

Ella collects all the balls and puts them back into the bag after about fifteen minutes. Erin jogs over as soon as Ella starts collecting the balls and picks up the cones for her. “I can take that.” Erin offers to carry the bag of ball.

“I got it.” Ella says flatly. “But, thanks.” She gives Erin a tight-lipped smile.

Erin nods. She can see that Ella is down again. She’s not an idiot and she has eyes. Erin was at practice. She saw all of Ella’s shots today during the shooting drill. Ella’s frustration is subtler today. It’s there but it’s not obvious like yesterday. Erin wishes there was something she could do to help. But at the same time she doesn’t want to butt into Ella’s issues if Ella doesn’t want her too. She knows sometimes a goalkeeper can help out a field player with a tip or two but she doesn’t have any tips for Ella. Ella’s doing what she needs to do to try and get her mojo back. And sometimes that’s just it. A player loses their touch or mojo for a while and has to work to overcome that and get it back.

They walk back to the equipment room side by side, wordlessly. Ella speaks with the equipment manager and Erin hangs outside the door, waiting for Ella. She waits for Ella and then they walk to the locker room together. It’s pretty much empty when they get there. Ella goes over to her locker and starts changing out of her practice gear right away. She’s quick and is done before Erin is finished. Ella goes to the door and leans up against the wall next to it, putting her foot up on the wall, and watches as Erin finishes changing.

Erin switches her shirt before putting on her shoes and tying them up. Ella seems to be in a hurry so she changes as quickly as possible. She knows Ella probably wants to get home. Erin figures she’ll just shower and put on something clean when she gets back to her apartment. She finishes tying her shoes and grabs her bag.

“You ready?” Ella pushes off of the wall.

“Yep. Thanks for waiting.” Erin follows Ella out of the locker.

“Sure thing. Thanks for shagging balls for me. You didn’t have to do that.” Ella looks over at Erin as they walk out of the facility.

Erin shrugs. “I wanted to.”

“Well, thanks.” Ella unlocks the car and they get in their respective sides. Ella starts on the journey home. It’s not a long drive but Ella just wants to be home. She’s not really feeling today and wants it to be over as quickly as possible. Halfway into the drive Ella feels a tap on her leg she looks down briefly to see Erin holding her hand out, palm up. Ella looks over at Erin. Erin smiles and continues to offer her hand.

Ella takes her right hand off the steering wheel and puts it in Erin’s hand. Erin squeezes her hand and they drive back to the apartment holding hands. She breathes out a long breath. The feeling of Erin’s hand in hers calms her a little. It helps. It’s not the solution to the problem but it helps.

Ella goes to her apartment right away when they get back. Erin wonders if she’ll see Ella at all during the rest of the day. Erin unlocks her door and is greeted by Max. “Hey, buddy.” She bends over and pats him on the head. “Did you miss me?” Max runs around in circles around Erin as she enters the apartment. Erin is always happy to see Max and he is always happy to see her.

* * *

 

Erin starts on dinner. When she’s halfway through she sends out a text. **Dri’s gone for the night. I’m making dinner. You wanna come over?**

Erin sets her phone down and focuses on the task at hand. She gets a reply a few minutes later. **Sure. What time?**

Erin looks at the clock. The food should be all done in about fifteen to twenty minutes. **6:30.** Erin replies and gets back to the meal. When it’s almost all set Erin gets out two plates, two wine glasses, and two sets of silverware. She sets the table with a single candle lit in the middle and a bottle of wine. Erin’s been thinking about this for a few hours now. She would have asked Ella to come over for dinner earlier but wanted to make it special and have it be a surprise. She couldn’t have it be a surprise if Ella was around before she started preparing. The only downfall to asking at the last minute would have been if Ella would have said no. But Erin was almost certain that she knew Ella would say yes, especially knowing it was just going to be the two of them. It all worked out in her favor so it doesn’t really matter now.

Erin is standing at the stove when Ella walks in. She hears a gasp and turns around. Ella is standing there, in the doorway, with her mouth hanging open. Max is standing at Ella’s feet looking curiously up at her.

“Maxwell, come here.” Erin calls. The little dog listens and trots over to his owner. Erin doesn’t Max running out the open door.

“Erin.” Ella is a bit speechless.

Erin turns off everything on the stove so nothing burns and goes over to Ella. “Shut your mouth. You’re gonna let flies in.” Erin jokes, hoping to ease any tension. She gets over to Ella and shuts the door.

Ella closes her mouth and looks at Erin curiously. “What is all this?”

“Well, I know you had a bad day or whatever.” Erin waves her hand back and forth in the air. She doesn’t really want to make a big deal out of it but she also wants Ella to know that she knows Ella had a bad day and that she cares. “And I know there’s not much I can do about your playing time, but I wanted to do something to help. I wanted to do something special for you to take your mind off of soccer for a while. For the night, at least.”

“Candles?” Ella looks over at the display on the table. “And wine?”

“Well-“ Erin looks over her shoulder. “One candle. Don’t tell the Super.” They’re not supposed to have candles burning in their apartments. “And yes, wine.” She looks back to Ella with a soft smile.

“You did all this for me?” Ella can’t believe her eyes.

“Yeah, silly.” Erin puts her hand on Ella’s hip and leans in for a kiss. “For you.”

“But why?” Ella still doesn’t know what to say.

Erin chuckles lightly. “Because I care about you. So stop questioning it.” Erin takes hold of Ella’s hand and leads her over to the dining room table. She let’s go of Ella’s hand to pull out her chair. “Have a seat.” Erin offers the chair.

“Thank you.” Ella smiles shyly.

As Ella sits, Erin pushes the chair in with her. Erin reaches for the bottle of wine and holds it out. “Would you like some wine?” Erin asks.

“Just a glass.” Ella tells her.

Erin pops the bottle of wine open and pours a glass for Ella and then one for herself. Erin takes a drink out of her glass before setting it down at her place setting. “You stay here. I’ll be right back.” She squeezes Ella’s shoulder before walking away.

Ella watches as Erin goes to the kitchen and takes a pot off of the stove. Erin carries the pot over to the table along with a hot pad and set the two on the table. Ella tries to look into the pot but Erin shoos her away. “No peeking.” Erin throws her hands onto her hips. “I have to get one more thing.”

Ella looks up at Erin. “Okay.” She bites her lower lip. Ella can’t really wrap her head around what’s happening right now. Erin has put so much effort into this dinner and is doing everything so Ella doesn’t have to do anything but sit there. Ella watches as Erin turns and goes back to the kitchen. She watches Erin walk over to the stove with purpose in her steps.

Erin comes back to the table after a few seconds and reaches for Ella’s plate and starts to dish up the food onto it. She hands Ella the plate and then serves up some for herself. Erin then sits in her chair across from Ella. Erin grabs her napkin and shakes it out in a silly manner before setting it on her lap. “Let’s eat.” She grins wide.

Ella just smiles happily over at Erin as she starts eating. They don’t talk much as they eat, but a lot of looks are shared between the two. At one point, Erin curls her toes around Ella’s ankle under the table. Ella jumps, surprised at first, but smiles shyly over at Erin as Erin runs her socked toes up Ella’s leg.

“Erin.” Ella says softly.

“You ready for dessert?” Erin smirks.

“Dessert? I’m stuffed.” Ella slumps down in her chair. “If I eat anymore I might explode.”

Erin laughs. “Okay. Maybe later. After you digest some.” Erin gets up from the table. “It’s cheesecake.”

Ella groans. She loves cheesecake. And Erin knows she loves cheesecake.

Erin walks around the table and holds her hand out for Ella to take. “My lady.” Ella places her hand in Erin’s and starts getting up from the table. Erin escorts Ella over to the couch. “Pick a seat.” Erin gestures to the couch.

Ella decides on the spot on the left end of the couch and sits down. Erin still has a hold of Ella’s hand. She bows and presses a kiss to the back of it. “Wait here.” Erin whispers, looking up at Ella from her bowed position and winks. Ella nods, grinning stupidly from ear to ear.

Erin releases Ella’s hand and hurries away from the couch. She goes back to the table and grabs the bottle of wine and Ella’s wine glass. Erin comes back with one in each hand. She stops in front of Ella and pours some wine into the glass. It’s the third time Erin has filled the glass tonight.

“Are you trying to get me drunk?” Ella asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Not at all.” Erin frowns. “You don’t have to drink it all or any of it, if you don’t want.” Erin offers the glass to Ella.

Ella takes the glass. “I’ll probably only have a little. But, thank you.” She doesn’t want to get too carried away. It’s nice though. The dinner and the wine.

Erin nods. “You’re very welcome.” Erin spins around and goes over to the iPod dock that’s next to the tv. Erin turns on her iPod and starts some music. She looks over her shoulder back at Ella. “You relax. I’m gonna clean up from dinner.”

“I can help.” Ella offers, starting to get up from the couch.

“No. I insist. You stay there.” Erin looks around quickly. “Maxwell.” She calls for her pup. He comes running out from Erin’s room. Apparently, he had no interest in the adult’s dinner and went to have a nap.

“Go keep our girl company.” She looks down at the little dog. He looks back at her and Erin snaps her fingers and points to Ella. Max runs over to the couch. Erin looks over at Ella and smiles softly as Ella helps Max up onto the couch.

Ella is not sure if Erin is counting this as a date or not but she definitely is. This is one of the most special things anyone has ever done for her. And all seemingly on a whim. She really can’t believe Erin went to all this trouble just to try to make her feel better after having another rough day. Ella feels a little guilty that Erin is doing all the work. That she is doing all of this for her. She certainly wasn’t expecting it when Erin casually texted her asking if she wanted to come over for dinner. Ella is happy though that it happened. She is able to relax and unwind for a little bit. And she gets to play with Max. That’s always a plus.

Erin goes back to the table, blows out the candle, and gathers all the dirty dishes and pots of food and brings them to the kitchen. She puts the leftovers in a Tupperware before washing the dirty dishes. She puts everything anyway except for the bottle of wine. There’s a glass or so left in the bottom of the bottle. Erin is half-tempted to just finish off the rest but her better judgement kicks in and she just leaves it on the counter with her glass. Maybe later, she thinks.

“Okay, Max. My turn.” Erin says as she comes back over to the couch. She takes Max and sets him on the floor, on his doggy bed, at the end of the couch.

“You’re not gonna sit in my lap, are you? Like he was?” Ella questions.

“Do you want me to?” Erin smirks.

Ella shrugs.

Erin sits on the couch sideways on the cushion next to Ella. “So.” Erin folds her hands together and puts them in her lap. “There is a method to my madness. Well, sort of.” Erin shrugs. “I really did want to do all of this for you but not just cuz you had a bad day or two. I want to talk about it with you too.”

“Oh.” Ella doesn’t like talking about things, her feelings. She sighs and the relaxed state that she was in washes away and all her problems and doubts come flooding back in. “Do we have to?” Ella asks, hoping to get out of this conversation somehow.

“I would like to. I really think it might help. I’ll shag all the balls you want after practice, but I want to help in some other way, too.” Erin sticks her elbow into the back of the couch and rest her hand on the side of her face.

Ella thinks about it for a few seconds before turning her in spot so that she is facing Erin and sitting in a similar, mirrored position. “Where do you want to start?” Ella asks.

“Start with today. What are you feeling?” Erin asks.

“I’m frustrated mostly.” Ella sighs.

“With what?” Erin asks.

“With the way I’m playing. With the amount of minutes I’m getting. I know it’s a team game but still. I’m frustrated that I can’t get anything right on the field. You were there today. Not one of my shots went in. It’s very depressing.” Ella slumps forward in her spot.

Erin puts a hand on Ella’s knee and gives it a squeeze.

“It’s just really frustrating. I’ve been doubting everything the last couple of days. I don’t want to feel like this. I don’t want to be going through this. I don’t know if I can do it anymore.” Ella sighs.

“Do what?” Erin asks. She wants Ella to go more in depth.

“Everything. I don’t know if I can play soccer anymore. After the season is over- I don’t know if I want to do it anymore. I don’t know if I can.” Ella looks down at the hand on her knee. She reaches out and wraps her fingers around Erin’s pinky finger.

Erin screws up her face. She doesn’t really like what Ella is saying right now. But she knows how hard Ella works and how much she puts into the game. Like any professional. But it seems like right now Ella just keeps working harder and harder and not seeing any results. It sucks. Erin chews on her upper lip. She doesn’t want Ella to make any hasty decisions. “Maybe you should see what happens with our last game.” Erin knows things happen. For all anyone knows, Ella could have a crazy great last game of the season.

That’s one thing Ella’s really been thinking about. The future. What happens when the season is over? That’s more important to her right now then what’s going to happen with the last game. She doubts she’ll have a great game. She doubts she’ll see much playing time. Once again, the future is unclear for Ella. She doesn’t know what’s going to happen when the season ends. Part of her doesn’t want to find out.

“This could be it.” Ella says.

“What?” Erin asks for clarification.

“Everything. It could all be over. Gone.” Ella says cryptically. She doesn’t know if she can do it anymore. She doesn’t know if she wants to.

“Ella.” Erin’s not sure what to say exactly to make it better. She doesn’t know if she can.

“It’s fine, Erin.” Ella let’s go of Erin’s finger and takes her hand back. She wraps her arms around her middle, hugging herself tightly. She doesn’t know what her future holds, but Ella doesn’t see anything that she sees right now. Not soccer and not the girl that’s sitting in front of her. Soccer, this team, was their connection. Ella wants to know what happens when that is gone? What happens when she isn’t playing anymore? What does she do then? Where does she go? What if this is it?

Erin sees what is happening before her and she won’t let Ella pull away. She takes her hand off of Ella’s knee and repositions herself on the couch so she is sitting normally. “Come here.” Erin pats at her legs.

“No.” Ella frowns and shakes her head.

“Ella, don’t be stubborn right now.”

Ella grimaces. “I’m not stubborn.”

“Yes, you are. Let’s not argue about this right now. Come here.” Erin reaches for Ella’s arms. As soon as she has her hand around Ella’s wrist Ella gives in and climbs onto Erin’s lap, facing her.

“What?” Ella whines like a child. She slumped in her spot with her defeated attitude. Her arms crossed over her chest still, looking down and pouting pathetically.

Erin tilts Ella’s chin up and presses her lips to the corner of Ella’s mouth.

“What was that for?” Ella asks.

Erin boops Ella’s nose. “Just because.” She smiles. Ella’s lips curl up at the sides but she doesn’t smile fully.

Erin puts her hands on Ella’s hips. “I see how hard you work. I know how much time and effort you put into the game. Into your soccer career. I might be biased but I don’t think coach has giving you a fair shot the last couple of weeks. I know we are a team and that is part of the game, and it’s not fair, but yeah.” Erin’s not really sure where she is going with this but she knows she has to say something to get through to Ella. To encourage her to continue on, at least for another week. She doesn’t want to see Ella quit right now. Not with everything she’s been through and overcome.

Erin plays with the fabric at the top of Ella’s shorts. She looks down at her hands. She looks at the position they are in. The way they fit together so well. And suddenly, she knows what she has to do. “Ella.” Erin looks up into Ella’s eyes. “It might not be fair but it is what it is. And I know you won’t say anything to anyone, to the coaches, or the other girls on the team. And you’re not gonna take this out on anyone but yourself. But you shouldn’t be beating yourself up about it. Because it’s out of your control. You should know that.”

Ella nods. “Deep down, I do.”

“Okay then. You shouldn’t doubt yourself or the things you are doing. And you shouldn’t question the future. As hard as that might be.” Erin advises.

“It’s the hardest.” Ella unfolds her arms from her chest and finds Erin’s hands on her hips. She locks her fingers with Erin and brings their hands to the little space between their bodies.

“You’re a good person. One of the best I’ve ever met.” Erin continues on.

“Erin, stop.” Ella blushes.

“Just let me talk, okay? Listen.” Erin whispers and Ella nods in response.

“You’re a good person with a great heart. You are kind and compassionate. You would give a stranger the clothes off your back if you thought they needed them. But maybe that’s just because you seem to not like wearing clothes.” Erin makes a little joke.

Ella rolls her eyes.

“You’re strong. And I don’t just mean physically. You’re strong inside. In so many ways.” Erin pauses. She’s not sure if she has a good segway into what she wants to say next. She just goes for it. Erin takes her right hand from Ella and tucks Ella’s hair behind her ear. “There’s so many great things about you. You’re one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever met. Ya know, behind Carm.” Erin gets a smack on the arm for that. “Joking.” Erin leans forward to whisper in Ella’s ear. “You’re the prettiest on the whole team.” Erin kisses Ella’s cheek as she pulls back. They both know it’s a little flashback to the episode of The Ella and Carm Show that Erin was the guest on.

“I mean, there’s all this beautiful blonde hair.” Erin’s eyes flicker to Ella’s hair briefly before coming back to meet her eyes again. “And those eyes. My god, Ella. I don’t think there’s anyone that has the same color eyes that you have. They’re very unique.”

“They’re grey.” Ella mumbles. She doesn’t get the appeal.

“Shhh.” Erin puts her finger to Ella’s lips. “What else?” Erin mock thinks, like she can’t think of anything else she likes about Ella’s. “Oh, I know.”

“Please don’t mention my nose.” Ella groans.

“I won’t.” Erin smirks. She knows it’s a potential sore subject for Ella.

“Good.” Ella smiles. She’s not gonna lie, her numerously broken noses are not one of her favorite features.

Erin sneaks her hand under the front of Ella’s shirt. “And these muscles. Not just these ones.” Erin runs her fingertips over Ella’s abs. Ella squirms a little at the touch. “All of them. The arms. The back. The legs. All of them. But muscles are only one things. There are so many things.”

“Oh, yeah.” Ella smiles. She’s enjoying this and all the complements Erin is giving her.

“Yeah.” That’s one of the things Erin likes the most. “And that smile of yours. Especially when it’s full. It’s my favorite. I love making you laugh and seeing you smile. You’re beautiful inside and out and all around, Ella.” Erin leans forward and seals her words with a kiss.

“Thank you, Erin.” Ella ducks her head after the kiss, a little shy with all the attention Erin is giving her. “Where is all of this coming from?”

Erin shrugs. “I just thought you needed to hear it. I mean I know we have our differences and we have a lot of different opinions on a lot of things. But we have a lot of things in common too. I don’t know if you see it that way but I do. And it’s okay to have our differences. That’s what makes us unique. I know we aren’t going to agree on everything. That’s just the way it is but you and I aren’t that different if you really think about it.”

Ella won’t look Erin in the eyes. She keeps her focus on the collar of Erin’s shirt. “How so?”

Erin shrugs. “I know you’re trying to figure all of this out. You and me. And you might feel like you’ll never figure it out but- hey.” Erin puts her hand under Ella’s chin and lifts it with a finger. “Ella, so am I. I’m trying to figure this out too. This is all new to me too. Just in different ways than it is for you. I think it’s time for us to start trying to figure this out together instead of separately. Help each other out, ya know?”

Ella nods.

“I’m scared.” Erin admits.

Ella leans back away from Erin a little. “You are?” She doesn’t believe it. She wouldn’t have known if Erin hadn’t just said something.

Erin nods. “Yep. I’m scared. And I’ve been vulnerable. That’s the scariest thing. To put myself out there. Out in the open and to not know how I’m going to be received.”

“Erin.” Ella pouts. She’s not sure she wants to hear what Erin has to say anymore. Ella liked it when it was all complements and praise. This- this is something different. Scary.

Erin continues on. “I’m scared cuz I don’t know how this is going to go. How this is going to end?”

“What?” Ella asks, losing Erin for a moment.

“Everything. Like you said, the season’s almost over. Then what?” Erin purses her lips together tightly. “I’ve taking a huge risk. And so far, it’s paid off.” Erin smiles. “You’re risky Ella. But I wouldn’t change that. If I had to do it all again I would take the same risk cuz you’re worth it.”

Ella takes a deep breath. Things just got intense.

Erin retakes Ella’s hand. “I’ll admit; I don’t know what’s gonna happen in the future. Nobody does. And that’s one of the scariest things in life. Not knowing the future. But you can’t be afraid of the future cuz you won’t be living life the way you should. It was scary to open myself up but I’m glad that I did.” Erin squeezes Ella’s hands. “And I’m really glad you did too.”

“Ella-“ Erin takes a deep breath. “If you haven’t figure it out already you mean a lot to me. And when the season ends-“ She doesn’t know how she wants to end that sentence so she doesn’t. “I care about you greatly and that scares me a little too. I’m scared that I might mess something up. Mess this up. Mess you up.” Erin sighs.

“Erin, stop.” Ella really doesn’t like the way Erin is speaking.

“No. Wait. This is important. Ella, I know you don’t like talking about feelings and things. But, I’m a little different. I need to talk about things. I need to talk about my feelings. And my feelings for you are many and vast. I can’t hold them inside any longer. They need to come out and they need to come out now.”

“What do you mean?” Ella cocks her head to the side.

“Ella.” Erin pauses and bites her lip. “I love you.”

Ella narrows her eyes. “Really?” She asks.

Erin wants to laugh. “Of course, silly goose.” Erin smiles.

“Oh.” Ella mumbles and looks down.

Erin’s not totally surprised by Ella’s reaction. It’s actually better than she was thinking it would be. Erin knows this is a big thing for Ella. This is a big thing for both of them. When Erin doesn’t get a response from Ella she continues.

“You’re special.” Erin can’t help the cheesy smile that’s on her face. It feels good to finally let her feelings known. She feels relieved, in a way. “I knew you were special the first day that I met you. There was so much going on that day but you were one of the things that stood out to me on my first day in Chicago. That’s a day I’ll never forget.” Erin references the day that she moved in. She was the last one from the team to move into the building. Carm was already there and so were Ella and her roommates.

Ella looks up and into Erin’s eyes. “Really?”

Erin nods. “Yup.”

“The day you moved in?” Ella questions.

“Uh-huh.” Erin nods again.

“Oh.” Ella recalls the day in her mind and doesn’t remember anything particularly special about it. “But you were still with-“ Ella brings up Erin’s ex and how they were still together during the beginning of the season.

“I was.” Erin looks down for a moment before returning her eyes to Ella. She doesn’t regret anything but if Erin had to go back she would do things a little differently in regards to how she dealt with the end of her pervious relationship.

“Ella, what I’m saying is that it didn’t matter. Not that it didn’t matter but you know what I mean. The day I met you-“ Erin pauses and licks her lips. -I knew that there was something I saw that I liked. And that only grew in the days and weeks that followed. Whether I admitted it to myself or not. I think it was always there but for a long time I pushed it down. But I’ve never felt such a connection to someone I just met. Friend or otherwise.”

“Wow.” Ella is a bit speechless. For one of the many times tonight. Which is different for her.

“And it didn’t matter if it worked or not. I would take the same chance over and over again just to see if it might. That’s how special you are to me.” Erin could say so many things but thinks she has summed up her feelings for Ella’s pretty well right now. In the future she can elaborate.

“I’m going to visit my mom tomorrow. Come with me?” Ella asks.

Erin scrunches her face up, thinking it’s an unusual response to her saying I love you but not many things are usual with Ella. Erin just rolls with it. “Okay.” She’s not even concerned whether Ella says I love you or not. Erin knows the situation she’s in with the girl sitting on her lap. She’s not going to question it. But Erin just had to tell Ella and it had to be in this moment. She sort of thinks it was a great moment to tell her. Especially after the frustrations Ella has been having recently.

“Awesome.” Ella leans in and kisses Erin, hard, pushing her into the back of the couch. Ella doesn’t think she could have a better, worse day. It really wasn’t going well and then Erin invited her over for dinner and now all this.

Erin saying I love you makes Ella feel so many things. Obviously, loved, but there’s a little voice in the back of her head that whispers ‘this isn’t right’. Ella ignores it and goes with her heart. With her feelings. She might not be ready. She might not be able to say it back but Ella tries to convey her feeling through her kiss. She takes Erin’s face in both my palms and kisses her with everything she’s got.

“Woah.” Erin takes a deep breath. “What was that all about?” Erin smirks. She thinks she knows.

Ella shrugs. She’s not sure what to say so she pecks Erin’s lips again. “What now?” Ella asks. She’s so unsure of herself right now that she’s not sure what to do. She moves her hands to Erin’s shoulders.

“Well, I have to walk Max before bed.” Erin runs the palms of her hands up and down Ella’s thighs. “And I was thinking maybe cheesecake after.” Erin grins.

“After bed?” Ella wrinkles up her face. That doesn’t make much sense to her.

Erin laughs. “No. Geez.” She rolls her eyes. “After I walk Max.”

“Oh.” Ella nods. “That makes more sense.”

“Yeah. But I do have one more problem before any of that.” Erin raises an eyebrow on Ella. “Do you think you can help me with it?” She asks with a twinkle in her eyes.

“Sure. What?” Ella shrugs. She’ll do pretty much anything for Erin at this point.

“There’s this pretty girl sitting on my lap. I don’t want to ask her to move but I don’t know how I’m going to get up otherwise.” Erin smirks.

“You’re such a brat.” Ella squeezes Erin’s shoulders and leans in for one more quick kiss. “You walk Max. I’ll take care of the cheesecake. Have it ready when you get back.” Ella suggests.

“We work good as a team, don’t we?” Erin asks answering her own question.

“Well, duh.” Ella grins and gets up.

Max perks up in his spot. “That’s right buddy. Your mommy’s gonna take you for a walk.” Ella talks to the little dog. He stands up and follows Ella into the kitchen.

Erin gets up and follows them both. “Come on.” Erin grabs Max up from around Ella’s feet. “I’ll be right back.” Erin says and kisses Ella on the cheek.

“Okay.” Ella opens the fridge and finds the cheesecake front and center. She takes it out and puts it on the counter to warm up a little. The apartment door closes behind her and she knows that Erin is gone.

Ella leans into counter and sighs. There is a smile on her face as the events of the past few minutes replay in her mind. Ella thought maybe her head would be spinning after everything that’s happened today but it’s the opposite. She finds a calm there. A silence almost. Everything has been washed away except for Erin and her love words. All the frustrations, and negative thoughts, and doubts are all done. Ella knows maybe not permanently but for right now. For tonight none of that matters.

With Erin walking Max it gives Ella time to think and time to process. She thinks about tomorrow and seeing her mom. She thinks about having Erin there with her. Ella knows it’s going to be a perfect day. A day to just get away and not have to worry about soccer, or her career, or what happens next. She knows it will be good for her.

Ella gets out two plates and two forks and a knife and waits for Erin’s return. It only takes a few minutes before her favorite keeper and her favorite dog are coming through the door again.

“Oh thank goodness. The cheesecake is still here Max.” Erin jokes.

Ella frowns. “What you thought I would just take the cheesecake and leave?”

“Well, not exactly. I thought maybe, seeing as you like cheesecake so much, you’d eat it all.” Erin unhooks Max from his leash and lets him loose into the apartment.

“One, that’s impossible in such a short amount of time. And, two, I’m not a pig.”

Erin makes oinking pig noises as she meanders on over to the kitchen where Ella is standing.

“Stop it.” Ella smacks Erin on the arm when she’s within reach.

Erin wraps Ella up in her arms. “Did you miss me?” Erin licks her lips.

“Maybe.”

“Good, cuz I missed you too.” Erin leans in and kisses Ella. “Now.” She looks at Ella with a determined stare. “Where’s my cheesecake?”

Ella chuckles and rolls her eyes. “Right here. I can cut us a couple of slices. You gotta let me go though.” Ella wiggles out of Erin’s arms and Erin let’s her go easily.

“Only one.” Erin follows Ella’s every move.

“What?” Ella asks with the knife in her hand.

Erin comes up behind Ella and wraps her arms around her from behind. “Only cut one piece.” She whispers in Ella’s ear.

“O-kay.” Ella stutters. It hard for her to concentrate with Erin pressed up against her back and whispering in her ear. The gentle kisses on the side of her neck that come next only make Ella’s lack of concentration worse. “Erin.” She scolds.

“Okay. Okay.” Erin takes a step back. She knows she’s not helping and it could be dangerous with a knife in Ella’s hand. “Cut one piece and meet me at the couch.” Erin tells Ella and disappears to her bedroom. Erin changes into shorts and a tank top before pulling the comforter off of her bed and grabbing a pillow and returning to the living room with the items.

Ella is sitting on the couch with a plate with one slice of cheesecake on it. A fork in her right hand. “What’s all that?”

“What does it look like?” Erin says quickly and plops down next to Ella. She eyes the cheesecake and forgets all about the blanket and pillow in her hands. They end up on the floor at the foot of the couch in seconds. “You gonna eat some of that? Or can I have some?” Erin asks.

Ella smiles and cuts a little piece of cheesecake with the fork. Her smile grows as she gets an idea. Ella holds the fork out towards Erin. Erin eyes Ella with big eyes before slowing opening her mouth and wrapping her lips around the fork. Ella pulls back slowly, pulling the fork from Erin’s mouth, leaving the cheesecake there. She watches as Erin gets her first taste, hums, and enjoys. Ella gulps as Erin licks the cheesecake residue from off her lips. She cuts another piece of cheesecake and brings it to her lips slowly putting the fork into her mouth and clearing the cheesecake from it with her teeth and lips. Ella gets another bite onto the fork and offers it to Erin again. They eat in silence like that, trading bites back and forth, watching each other and listening to the little hums of enjoyment and approval each other makes. Slowly, the cheesecake begins to disappear from the plate.

Ella forks up the last little bit of cheesecake and offers it to Erin even though she had the previous bite. Erin shakes her head and nods at Ella. Ella shakes her head and offers the fork closer to Erin. Erin smiles softly and gives in. She opens her mouth to allow Ella to put the forkful in. Ella removes the fork and Erin chews the last bit of their shared cheesecake. Ella puts the plate and fork on the table at the end of the couch.

“All gone.” She says turning back to Erin, breaking the silent spell that they were in.

“That was the best cheesecake I’ve ever had.” Erin says, not really talking about the cheesecake.

“I agree.” Ella watches Erin, waiting for what she’s going to do next. Erin watches Ella in return waiting for her to do something.

Erin takes the lead. “Stand up.”

“Why?” Ella questions.

“Just do it, okay.” Erin tells her. Ella eyes Erin as she stands. Erin grabs the pillow from the floor and puts in at the arm of the couch to her right and lays down onto her back. “Okay, lay down.”

“Where?” Ella doesn’t see a spot for her with Erin taking up the whole length of the couch. Erin pats at her chest and stomach with each of her hands. Ella looks over Erin’s body before her eyes focus on Erin’s. She asks Erin a question with her eyes. Asking if Erin is serious. “Come on.” Erin waves her hand for Ella to come closer.

Ella looks again at Erin laying there and makes her first move. She sticks her knee between Erin’s legs, near her knees, and puts her hand on the back of the couch for stability. Ella brings her other leg up and plants her knee into the couch cushion on the outside of Erin’s outer leg so she’s kneeling on the couch with her hand on the back. Ella looks down at Erin before shifting into a laying position on top of her. Ella rests the side of her head on Erin’s left shoulder and looks up at her. “How’s this?” She’s unsure for some reason. Ella taps idly at Erin’s chest where her left hand rests.

“Perfect.” Erin kisses Ella’s forehead. “You comfy?” Ella nods. “Good.” Erin brings the blanket up and covers them up with it so just their heads and Erin’s chest are uncovered. “Good night, beautiful.” Erin leans in for a good night kiss.

“Wait, we’re sleeping here?” Ella doesn’t let Erin kiss her.

“Is that not okay?” Erin wrinkles up her face and second guesses her decision to do this. She just wanted to switch it up a little. She knows Dri’s not going to be home until tomorrow morning. Not that Dri is the problem but Erin thought sleeping on the couch could be different. She honestly just wants to be as close to Ella as possible right now and this is the perfect way to do that. The closeness and the intimacy of sleeping on the couch is what she wants but if that’s not what Ella wants she won’t do it. “We can go to the bedroom. I just thought- nevermind-“ Erin looks away from Ella.

“What?” Ella brings her hand up to Erin’s cheek and turns her head back so she can see Erin’s face.

“It’s weird. You’ll think I’m weird.” Erin frowns.

“I already think you’re weird.” Ella smiles wide.

Erin rolls her eyes. Of course. “I just want to be as close to you as possible.” She admits.

Ella runs her thumb over Erin’s cheekbone and leans up to kiss her. “We’ll stay here. It’s fine. But if I have a sore back or something tomorrow I’m blaming you.” Ella winks.

“Okay.” Erin sighs. She’ll take all the blame if it means she gets to have Ella tight to her all night. “Let’s sleep now.” Erin wraps her arms around Ella and holds her tight.

“Good night.” Ella kisses the soft skin at Erin’s neck.

“Good night, babe.”

Ella smiles and kisses Erin’s neck again and snuggling into Erin’s body further. She wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now. A little more room would be nice but Ella’s not going to complain.


	19. Chapter 19

Dri unlocks the door and enters the apartment as quietly as possible. She doesn’t know if her roommate is still asleep or not. It’s their day off and it’s early yet. Dri knows that Erin likes to sleep in when she gets the opportunity. And today would be the perfect opportunity for that. She looks around and doesn’t see any signs that Erin is awake. She doesn’t hear anything either so Dri assumes she is still sleeping.

Dri puts her bag down and rounds the end of the couch to find Max sitting there looking up at the couch with a sad look on his face. Dri looks at the couch next and smiles. She gets her phone out of her pocket, puts it on silent, and takes a couple of pictures.

Erin lays on the couch on her back. Her left arm squished into the back of the couch, under Ella’s body. Her right arm and hand resting on Ella’s back. Erin’s right leg hangs off the couch with her foot actually flat on the floor. Ella’s forehead is smashed into Erin’s neck and her left arm hangs off the couch. The blanket only covers two of their legs. Dri thinks it’s one of Ella’s legs that is sticking out but she can’t be sure.

“Well, isn’t this cute.” Dri says loudly.

Ella jolts awake, banging her forehead into Erin’s jaw. Erin wakes up with a groan. “What the hell?”

“Sorry.” Ella apologizes and kisses the spot on Erin’s jaw that she smashed into. “Look up.” She tells Erin. Ella looks up to where Dri is standing at the end of the couch, above them.

Erin looks up too. “Morning, Dri.”

“Late night?” Dri asks.

“Hmm, not really.” Erin replies. “Right?” She asks Ella with a small smile.

“Right.” Ella agrees. “We went to sleep at a reasonable hour.” Ella looks from Dri to Erin with a smile.

“Yep.”

“But we should get up now anyway. What time is it?” Ella looks back to Dri.

Dri looks at the time on her phone. “7:20.”

“Oh, we’re gonna be late.” Ella pushes herself up from Erin.

“For what?” Dri asks.

“We’re going to see my mom.” Ella smiles. She’s excited and can’t wait. “I’m gonna go shower.” Ella presses a kiss to Erin’s forehead and skips to Erin’s bedroom.

Erin furrows her brow. “Ella?” She asks after the girl, but Ella either doesn’t hear her or ignores her. Erin pushes herself up and looks in the direction of her room. Ella comes out after a few seconds with clothes in her hand and goes directly into the bathroom, not looking in Erin and Dri’s direction.

“Is she showering here?” Dri asks what she and Erin are both thinking.

Erin shrugs. “I guess so.” She sighs and slumps back into the couch. “I better get up and get dressed.”

“Yeah, oh, and you might want to check your phone.” Dri smirks and heads off to her room.

Erin wonders why Dri wants her to check her phone. Is it something with the team? Or the Canadian team? Erin gets up and looks for her phone in the living room, and then the kitchen but doesn’t find it. She goes in her room to find her phone sitting on the bedside table. Erin picks it up and sees a text message from Dri. She opens it. There’s a picture attached.

**You guys are super cute.** Erin reads the comment and then stares at the picture of her and Ella asleep on the couch knowing that Dri must have taken it before she woke them up. Erin saves the photo and then stares at it some more before getting dressed and ready for the day.

* * *

 

Ella pulls the car into the driveway. Erin looks up at the house in front of them. It seems the same as the one other time she was here. Nothing appears to have changed on the outside since May.

Ella looks over at Erin and then up at the house. There’s an anxious current running through her body. She knows why. Erin’s met her mom already but this, today, right now, is different. She thinks it helps that Erin has already met her mom but she’s still anxious about them meeting again. Ella has some things she wants to talk to her mom about while she’s here that relate to Erin. In private, of course. But she’s anxious to get inside and get the day started.

Her mother appears in the front door and Ella knows she better get out of the car before her mom comes over. “You ready?” Ella asks and looks over at Erin.

Erin looks back at Ella. “Are you?” Erin raises an eyebrow.

Ella bites her lip. She doesn’t know if she is or not. But it doesn’t matter. They’re here. “Yeah.” Ella nods confidently.

“Let’s do this.” Erin smiles. She wants to kiss Ella right now but knows that her mom is watching and she doesn’t know what Ella has told her mom about them. Erin opens her door and gets out of the car. Ella follows her lead.

Erin walks up to the house, leaving Ella behind her at the car. She walks up the steps and opens her arms wide. “Mama Masar.” Erin yells and wraps up Ella’s mom in a massive hug. “How have you been?” Erin says quieter.

“Good, dear. And how are you?”

“I’ve been very good lately.” Erin replies and releases the older woman.

Ella’s mom eyes Erin up and down. “That’s good. You look good. Taking care of yourself. No more problems with the hand?”

Erin flexes her hand. “Nope. All good.” She assumes Ella told her mother about her hand. She doesn’t think the women follows the team that closely to know otherwise.

“That’s great to hear.” Shelley smiles kindly at the goalkeeper.

“What about me, mom?” Ella whines from behind Erin.

Erin steps to the side to let mother and daughter reunite. “Well, you could have informed me that you were bringing along this lovely little lady.” Shelley reaches out and wraps her hand around Erin’s wrist.

“Well-“ Ella watches her mom interact with Erin and smiles. She shares her mother’s sentiment. Erin is a very lovely little lady. “-it was sort of last minute.” Ella shrugs. Originally, Ella hadn’t planned on inviting Erin. It was just supposed to be a day for her mother and her. But, then Erin had to do and say all the things she did the night before and Ella couldn’t help it.

“Well, I’m very glad that she came along. The more the merrier. But, you’re late.” Shelley stares down Ella.

“Sorry, mom. Woke up late.” Ella looks down at the ground. She told her mother that she would be there by ten. And ten o’clock was over an hour ago.

“You should get your lazy butt out of bed sooner then.” Shelley turns on her heels and goes into the house. “You will be helping me get lunch together as a result.” She says as she walks away from the two standing on the porch.

“Haha.” Erin mocks.

Ella scowls at Erin. “You’re to blame, ya know. For us being late.”

“How?” Erin asks. She did nothing to cause them to be late.

Ella follows her mother into the house. “We should have set an alarm.” Ella says over her shoulder, looking back at Erin.

Erin’s jaw drops dramatically. “How is that my fault?”

Ella doesn’t reply. She goes into the house, into the kitchen to help her mother with lunch. “What can I help with?” Ella asks her mother.

“How’s that my fault?” Erin repeat as she enters the kitchen.

“It just is.” Ella takes the bowl her mother hands her.

“What is?” Shelley asks, getting into the discussion.

“It’s Erin’s fault that we’re late.” Ella says nonchalantly.

Erin folds her arms over her chest and huffs out a dramatic breath. “It is not.” She mumbles.

Shelley hands Ella a vegetable peeler. “Peel the carrots, El.” She puts a bag of carrots on the counter. “And leave Erin alone. I’m sure she didn’t do anything to make you guys late.” Shelley smiles over at Erin.

“Thank you, Shelley.” Erin grins at the women and then sticks her tongue out at Ella. “At least I have someone on my side.”

“Not fair.” Ella pouts. “She wasn’t there. She doesn’t know what happened.” Ella says without thinking.

“What happened?” Shelley asks with a curiously quirked eyebrow.

Ella clams up. “Uh- nothing.” Ella thinks of their morning and how she woke up. “I just- didn’t get up early enough.”

“So, how is that Erin’s fault?” Shelley asks flatly.

Ella sighs. “It just is.”

Erin sees Ella struggling and saves her from herself. “What can I do to help?”

“Hmm, you can cut up the carrots into small chucks after Ella is done peeling them. Chop chop, El. Let’s go or it will be dark before we eat.” Shelley nudges Ella to get her started.

Erin laughs and Ella rolls her eyes. Erin stands next to Ella at the counter. “Let’s go, carrot peeler.” Erin jokes.

“Shut up.” Ella starts peeling the carrots and hands the first one to Erin when she is done.

Shelley warms some soup that she premade and goes to sit at the table while the girls work on the carrots and then the other ingredients for the salad. She watches them work together in perfect rhythm. As they stand, side by side, working in concert, sharing smiles, and glances as they work. Shelley puts her elbow on the table, and then the palm of her hand on her jaw, and watches her daughter. Ella rambles on about something or anything as she usually does. A happy smile on her face as she talks and works on the vegetables. Shelley sees the twinkle in Ella’s eyes when she looks over at Erin and their eyes connect. Erin listens intently and nods or comments when Ella asks for an agreement or input.

Ella finishes with her vegetables and looks over at her mother. She knows she’s been sitting over at the table but she’s been so wrapped up in her tasks that she didn’t pay her much attention. She catches her mom staring at her. “What?”

“Oh, nothing dear.” Shelley gets up from the table and goes to the stove to check on the soup. “You girls done with that?”

“Yeah.” Ella confirms.

“Good. Soup’s almost ready.”

They all sit down for lunch. Soup and salad and Ella starts talking again. That anxious feeling has dissipated but she has this need to fill any quite air. Ella starts talking about how the last game is coming ever closer and how the end of the season is looming.

“And what will you be doing this offseason?” Shelley asks. She supports her daughter 100% in her soccer career. Sometimes she just wishes Ella chose some career with a little more stability. She only wants the best for her daughter. She knows that soccer makes Ella happiest and that it’s what she wants to do.

“What do you mean?” Ella sets her fork down.

“What. Will. You. Be. Doing?” Shelley annunciates every word loudly and slowly.

Erin chuckles a little bit. Ella shoots her a look to knock it off. Erin straightens up in her chair. Ella hasn’t thought about any solid plans in the offseason but she does have a few ideas in her head of some things she wants to do. She wants to take some time off and see if she wants to continue playing. The last month or two haven’t been the greatest for her on the field.

“Where will you be living? Here. At your sister’s house? Elsewhere?” Her mom asks with a quirked eyebrow.

Ella looks over at Erin and bites her lips. Erin shrugs and holds her hands out. She doesn’t know what Ella wants her to do. She doesn’t know what Ella’s offseason plans are.

“I don’t know yet.” Ella bows her head. She feels like she should have an answer but she doesn’t have any to give anyone. There’s so much she has to figure out yet. “Maybe a little of both. I want to take a little time off and then there’s Liza wedding. But after that, I’m not sure if I’ll be back in training or what.” She doesn’t want to commit to anything right now if that’s not what she wants to do. “We’ll see how it goes.”

“Okay, dear. You’re more than welcome here. That is, if you can handle my craziness and me working on projects at all hours.”

Ella chuckles. “Of course, mom.” Ella’s happy that her mom is in a good place. She worries about her sometimes but she knows her mom is doing well after her many years of struggle.

Erin reaches over and pats Ella’s leg under the table quickly for support. Ella sends her a smile in return.

“Cuz when I get inspired it’s not always regular hours. Might be the middle of the night when the art bug comes a crawlin’.” Shelley says.

“As long as you aren’t using power tools or something while I’m sleeping it will be fine, ma.” Ella goes back to eating her soup.

“Have you been working on anything recently, Shelley?” Erin asks.

Ella’s mother goes into detail about her latest project to Erin. They get lost in their art talk and all but forget that Ella is there. They talk and talk about things Ella doesn’t know about or understand. Erin brings up her upcoming art show and Shelley is over the moon to her about it. They talk for a while and Ella sits there after she is finished eating just admiring two of her most favorite people talking about something they are both so passionate about.

But, Ella gets bored. She gets up from her seat after about fifteen minutes and gathers her and Erin’s dishes and brings them into the kitchen. She puts away the leftovers and starts on the dishes. Her mother comes in after a few minutes. “Thank you for cleaning up.” Shelley comes up behind Ella and puts her hands on each of Ella’s shoulders, giving them a squeeze.

Ella looks over her shoulder at her mom. “Where’s Erin?” She can’t help but ask.

Shelley smiles. “She’s in the parlor. I was showing her my latest creations.”

“Oh.” Ella bites her lip. She takes her hands out of the sink water and wipes them on the dish towel. Now that she’s got her mom alone for a minute she thinks it’s a good opportunity to ask her mom a few questions that she’s had on her mind. “Mom.” Ella spins around to face her mother.

“Yes, dear.”

“Do you like Erin?” Ella asks, feeling a little nervous.

“Yes. She’s a very lovely lady. Polite and respectful. She’s funny and she loves art. What’s not to like?” Shelley tells her daughter. Ella nods, thinking to herself. “Why are you asking? Is there something you don’t like about her? Did she do something that bothers you? What is this about?”

Ella shakes her head. “No.” There’s nothing about Erin that Ella doesn’t like. And if there is it’s something small, more of a pet peeve or nuisance than anything. But Ella can’t think of anything that she doesn’t like. “I just-“ Ella refuses to make eye contact with her mother.

“Ella. Look at me.” Shelley stares Ella down, making her focus.

Ella takes a deep breath and bites the bullet. “Erin and I are dating.”

Shelley tilts her head to the side. “Oh, Ella.” Shelley pulls her daughter into a hug. “That’s wonderful. Yes?” She pulls away from Ella and holds her at arm’s length.

Ella nods. “Yeah.” She bites her lip, trying to prevent a smile from taking over her face but it doesn’t work. “We’ve been on three or four dates.”

“Three or four? You’re not sure.” Shelley quirks a puzzles eyebrow.

“Well-“ Ella looks down. “-last night- I’m not sure if it was a date or not. I was- I was having a bad day. So- last night- Erin surprised me. She invited me over and- she made me dinner. It was amazing. She- she- we talked about what I’ve been feeling and going through lately.” Ella sighs. “I haven’t been playing much. And it’s really started to get to me. Frustrating, ya know. But Erin was great. She made dinner and she did everything. We sat on the couch and I was telling her what’s been going on. You know that’s hard for me. I don’t like to talk about feelings and feel vulnerable.” Ella looks up and connects eyes with her mother. “Mom, she told me she loves me.”

Shelley’s eyes go wide. “Wow.” She looks over her shoulder in the direction of the parlor. “And what about you?” Shelley looks back at her daughter.

Ella shrugs. “I don’t know.”

“Ella.” Her mother scolds.

Ella takes a deep breath. “I’m not ready. I’m not- that’s a big deal to me. Like, what if I screw it up or say something stupid.” Ella worries.

Shelley laughs. “You probably will.”

“Not helping.” Ella rolls her eyes.

“Sorry, honey. If you want my advice. Go with your gut. Go with what feels right. Go with what’s in here.” Shelley puts her palm over Ella’s heart. “When the moment is right and you’re ready. Don’t worry about it though. I know you. You’ll drive yourself crazy if you worry.”

“Thanks, mom.” Ella nods. She feels a little better about everything now that she’s talked to her mom and her mom knows what’s going on.

“Now I know why you were late this morning.” Shelley smirks.

“Oh mom, no.” Ella groans. “No. It’s not like that. I- we haven’t- it’s not- we just overslept, that’s all. And I should’ve set an alarm.” Ella buries her face in her hands in embarrassment. She can’t believe her mom just went there.

“Huh, with the way you two were looking at each other when you were making the salad- the tension is totally palpable. You could’ve cut through that shit with a knife.” Shelley shrugs.

Ella groans again. “Mom, stop.”

Shelley giggles and pulls Ella into another hug. “Erin.” Shelley yells loudly through the house.

A few seconds later Erin appears in the kitchen. “What’s going on here?” She asks.

“Come join us.” Shelley tells her.

Erin walks over at wraps her arms around Ella and her mother. Erin questions Ella with a look. Ella shakes her head, shaking off Erin’s question and just telling her to go along with the group hug.

“Okay. Okay. Enough.” Ella says after a few seconds. The three pull away from each other. “I know I came here to spend the day with you but I was wondering if it would be okay with you if I took Erin on a tour of the city.” Ella asks nervously.

“That’s fine, dear. Will you be coming back here?” Shelley asks, looking between Ella and Erin.

Ella looks over at Erin quickly. “We’ll be back for dinner. Five o’clock?”

“Sounds good. Have a great afternoon, girls.” Shelley physically moves Ella out of the way and starts on finishing the dishes that Ella didn’t get to.

“Okay. Thanks, mom.” Ella smiles at her mother.

Shelley watches as Ella turns to Erin, smiles, and takes her hand. Erin grins back at Ella and leads them out of the kitchen.

“What was that all about?” Erin asks after they get in the car.

“Just my mom being weird.” Ella hides the fact that she told her mother about them. “You wanna see where I went to high school?” Ella changes the subject.

Erin reaches over and takes Ella’s right hand in hers. She squeezes it and rubs her thumb over the back. “I’d love to.” Erin smiles over at Ella.

Ella bites her bottom lip. She’s debating kissing Erin right now. She looks around outside the car. They are parked outside her mother’s house, on the street that she lived for many years.

Erin sees the internal debate that Ella is having. “It’s okay.” She squeezes Ella’s hand again before letting go.

“Sorry.” Ella feels bad. She’s not even comfortable holding Erin’s hand in public. And to kiss her out in the open would be a giant step up from that. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to though.

Ella shows Erin the town. She gives her a private little tour and tells Erin all sorts of stories from when she was growing up. Ella takes Erin to the elementary school she went to. They walk around the building and go over to the playground and sit on the swings.

Ella takes Erin to her high school and to the field that she played high school soccer on. She hops the fence.

“What are you doing, Ella?” Erin starts to panic. She doesn’t want to get into trouble. She doesn’t want either of them to get into trouble.

“It’s fine. Come on.” Ella turns her back to Erin and starts to walk away from her, out onto the field.

“Ella. Wait.” Erin whisper-yells and hops the fence herself. Erin runs, crouched down, to catch up to Ella. She comes up behind her just as Ella gets to mid-field.

Ella stops and turns around in a circle. “This is where I became serious about soccer.” Ella reminisces. She looks around the field as memories run through her mind.

Erin stands up straight and watches on in awe. She imagines a smaller version of Ella running around on this field scoring goals on the opponent. Erin wishes she had a ball right now. She’d have Ella do some drills on her. “So, this is where it all started?”

“More or less. I played like rec league and stuff but this is what counted.” Ella turns to Erin.

“How many goals did you score in high school?” Erin asks.

“Ninety-two. Still a school record.” Ella smirks.

“Wow. What a stud.” Erin wiggles her eyebrows.

Ella rolls her eyes at Erin’s lame attempt. But Erin is right. “I thought I was the shit. Back then.”

“The shit or a shit?” Erin jokes.

“Shut it, McLeod.” Ella mumbles.

“Soccer, sports were my- you know what let’s not do this here.” Ella grabs Erin’s hand and leads her off the field and back to the car. Erin doesn’t protest but she’s definitely interested in what Ella was going to say.

They go by the University before going back to the house for dinner with Ella’s mom.

* * *

 

Ella hugs her mom and says a quick goodbye before going to the car. She wants to get back to Chicago as soon as they can. Ella doesn’t want this to turn into a long night. She knows that it’s a possibility with her mother. And if they don’t leave now they be in trouble the later it gets.

Erin hugs Ella’s mom. “It was nice to see you again, Shelley. Thanks for the hospitality today. I didn’t know when Ella asked me that it was just supposed to be a day for the two of you. Sorry to intrude.” Erin apologizes for something that doesn’t need to be apologized for.

“Don’t be silly, dear.” Shelley gives Erin a good squeeze. “I hope to see you around here again.” Shelley leans into Erin’s and whispers into her ear. “And take care of my baby.”

Erin just nods and gives Shelley a tight-lipped smile as they pull apart. Erin backs away slowly before turning and jogging down the steps and to the car where Ella is waiting.

“Bye, girls. Drive safe, Ella.” Shelley waves at them from the porch.

Ella backs out of the driveway into the street.

“Did you tell her?” Is all Erin has to say.

Ella hits the brakes a little heavier than intended and the car comes to a halt. Ella puts the car into drive from reverse and then looks over at Erin. “Why? What did she say?”

Erin shrugs. “That she wants to see me around here again.” She tells Ella and looks out the window at a still waving Shelley. Erin smiles and waves back.

“Oh.” Ella starts down the road, thinking over what Erin just told her. It’s not bad. Her mother has a tendency to embarrass her but what she said isn’t bad.

“Oh, and, to take care of you.” Erin smiles over at Ella. She puts her hand on Ella’s thigh and gives it a squeeze. “I’ve got that one covered.” Erin says, self-assured.

Ella looks over at Erin out of the corner of her eye. “Is that so?” She asks.

“Yes.” Erin licks her lips. She leans over the center console. “What did you tell her, exactly?” Erin whispers in Ella’s ear.

“Erin.” Ella flinches. “I’m trying to drive.”

“I know.” Erin whispers. “What did you tell her?”

“That we are dating.” Ella informs Erin.

“That’a girl.” Erin whispers then kisses the shell of Ella’s ear.

“Erin. Stop.” Ella squirms in her seat.

Erin sits back in her seat properly. “I’m not doing anything.” She smirks. “And what did she say?” Erin wants to know how the conversation went with Ella and her mother.

“Wow.” Ella thinks back on it. She skips over the part where they talked about those three little words. “And that she knows why we were late this morning.” Ella scowls.

Erin laughs hard. She can’t help it.

“It’s not funny, Erin. My mother thinks we’re having sex.” Ella yells.

Erin laughs more. “Well?” Erin shrugs.

“Erin McLeod.” Ella glances over at her. “You’re terrible.”

“Don’t look at me. You’re the one who brought it up. It wasn’t me. That’s all on you, babe.” Erin takes Ella’s hand and Ella softens. She sighs out a long breath. “But ya know, we could-“

“Stop.” Ella cuts her off sharply. “Just stop.”

Erin smiles and sits back in her seat with her head against the head rest. She rolls her head to the side so she can watch Ella as she drives them back to Chicago.

Ella looks over at Erin after she can feel Erin’s eyes on her for several minutes. “Can you turn on the radio or something? Just stop staring at me.” She tells Erin, slightly flustered.

Erin sighs. “Okay.” She uses her right hand to reach over and turn on the radio. Erin brings Ella’s hand to her lips with her other hand and gives it a kiss before she starts singing along with the song.

* * *

 

After practice, Ella goes home and takes a shower. A long shower. The day off yesterday was great. And seeing her mom and spending the day with Erin was wonderful. But today it’s back at it and it’s been stressful. The end of the season shouldn’t be so stressful but it has turned out to be. There’s the lack of playing time but Ella feels stressed out beyond just that. It’s just an overall feeling that she has. And it’s frustrating.

Ella grabs her guitar when she’s done in the shower. She hopes to calm down and loss herself in music for a little while.

After, Ella hangs around with Taryn and Lori watching movies until dinner. But she gets that urge as soon as evening rolls around. Ella goes to her room and changes into a t-shirt and shorts and makes her way through the apartment to the door.

“If you need me, you know where I’ll be.” She quips to Taryn.

Taryn laughs. “Okay.” She thinks Ella’s come a long way in the last few weeks. She doesn’t get as flustered about questions about Erin and here whereabouts and Ella actually volunteers information now. That’s progress in Taryn’s mind.

Everyone from the team that lives in the building knows about Erin and Ella or has some sort of idea of what’s going on. And half the team has figured it out too. It doesn’t take a genius. If anyone pays any attention or spend any time with them they can figure it out. Taryn has been there from the beginning of the slow progression. Now things are moving a lot faster than in the beginning though.

“Cute, huh?” Taryn asks Lori.

“Yeah. It’s crazy. Those two together. But it works.” Lori can see that.

* * *

“Hey, Mr. Maxwell.” Ella smiles down at the pup. “Did you have your walk yet?” She asks him.

Erin walks over and greets Ella with a kiss. “He did. We just returned actually. Let me put the dishes away from dinner and then we can-“ Erin shrugs. She doesn’t know what they are doing to do. She doesn’t have a plan.

“Okay.” Ella goes around the end of the couch and has a seat. Max comes over and she picks him up and puts him on her lap so she can play with him.

Ella turns the tv on and searches for something to watch. She settles on just have ESPN on. It’s mostly just on in the background. The volume is low and its not like she’s actively watching. Mostly, Ella’s attention is focused on the dog in her lap.

Erin comes over after a couple of minutes and sits down on the opposite end of the couch from Ella.

Ella puts Max down on the floor when Erin comes over and she swings her legs up onto the couch. “So I was thinking.” Ella puts her feet in Erin’s lap.

“I don’t want these stinky things.” Erin says in reference to Ella’s feet but doesn’t make any attempt to get them off of her lap.

“So I was thinking about something my mom said yesterday and it got me thinking to other things. The end of the season is coming. And it’s coming sooner than I want it to.”

Erin agrees. “Yeah, me too.” She takes Ella’s feet in her hands and starts rubbing them.

Ella sighs. “That feels good.” She nearly moans.

Erin smiles over at Ella. “What were you thinking?”

“My mom asked me where I was staying in the offseason. I don’t know what my plans are yet but I was thinking and I was wondering what your plans were for the offseason.” Ella watches Erin’s hands as they massage her feet.

“Well-“ Erin locks eyes with Ella. “What kind of plans are you talking about? Soccer? Or? Something else?”

“Everything. I want to know what you are doing in the off season. Tell me everything.” Ella requests.

Erin licks her lips. “I’m going to Hawaii in September. Which you already knew. I have my art show after that. Then there’s starting up my new company. Which will take up most of my off season. Well, that and national team camp. And around the holidays I’ll be visiting my family around Canada. But, that’s basically my offseason in a nutshell. Why do you ask?” Erin likes that Ella is interested in what she is going to be doing but she wonders why Ella is so interested. To most people, the things Erin has for the off season are nothing too special.

Ella shrugs. “Just wondering.”

Erin finishes with the foot massage and rests her palms on Ella’s ankles. “I know you don’t know but what do you want to do in the off season?”

“I don’t know.” Ella looks down. “Maybe go somewhere. I can’t afford it though. I’ll probably stay with my sister for a few weeks. Get some extra time with the girls. I love getting to spend time with them and seeing them learn and grow.”

“Mmm.” Erin hums.

“Then I’ll probably stay with my mom and think about starting to train again. That is, if I want to play next year.” Ella wrinkles her face up.

Erin frowns. Ella has said it a couple of times now and every time Erin doesn’t like the sound of Ella possibly not playing soccer anymore, playing the following year. With the off season fast approaching, there is a thick uncertainty that is hanging around them. What’s going to happen? They are going to go their separate ways. Erin knows she wants to keep playing, that’s for certain. But she would be sad if she came back in the spring and Ella wasn’t playing or wasn’t with the team. She doesn’t really know what’s going to happening with them, between them when the season ends. And part of Erin is terrified to ask. When the season ends do they end too?

Erin doesn’t want to address it though. She pushes Ella’s feet off of her lap and stands. “Let’s go to bed.” Erin holds out her hand to help Ella up.

Ella smiles up at Erin and takes the offered hand. Erin leads them to the bedroom. She let’s go of Ella’s hand and goes over to the right side of the bed and pulls the blankets back. She gets into bed and waits for Ella to do the same. Ella gives Max one last scratch behind the ears before climbing into the left side of the bed.

“Shirt’s staying on tonight?” Erin asks. Ella sleeps shirtless more often than not.

“I’m not wearing a bra.” Ella leans over and kisses Erin’s cheek.

“Oh.” Erin blinks rapidly, slightly flustered.

Ella giggles. “Quit thinking about my boobs and roll onto your side.” She instructs.

Erin rolls onto her side as requested and Ella scoots up behind her, pressing into Erin’s back from behind and wrapping an arm over and around Erin. “Goodnight, Erin.” Ella kisses Erin’s shoulder.

“Goodnight, beautiful.” Erin smirks. She loves the feeling of Ella wrapped around her, holding her close, making her feel safe and taken care of. “I love you.” Erin whispers.

Ella kisses Erin’s neck in response.

Erin wonders what Ella is thinking. She hasn’t said it back. It’s not a huge worry to Erin but she does wonder why Ella hasn’t. She knows with Ella there has to be a reason and a good one at that.

“Sleep well.” Ella whispers in Erin’s ear. She takes Erin’s hand in her own and holds their hands to Erin’s chest just above her heart.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fyi this chapter takes place over six days. I’ve sort of combined two chapters together into one to speed this part along a little. Enjoy.

August 16th marks the last full team practice for the Chicago Red Stars 2013 season. It’s a bittersweet moment for some. The future is unclear for a lot of players. It’s the end of the first season of the NWSL. There are more questions than answers for most. Will the league continue? Will the same players be with Chicago next season? Will there be trades? Who will be on the roster come the start of the next season? No one really knows but the questions still loom. Even if no one talks about it the players, and staff, all know there will likely be changes in the off season.

Practice goes well and they end the practice with a fun game that involves everyone. Ella ends up getting the ball past Erin and into the goal. She runs down the sideline with a smile on her face and her right hand in the air. It’s the first goal she’s scored in over a week in practice or otherwise. There is a little relief that comes with it. The team reorganizes after the goal and starts their game again.

Erin jogs a little. “Nice goal there, Masar.” She says as she catches up to Ella after practice as they head back to the locker room.

Ella smiles shyly over at Erin. “Thanks.”

“Sure thing, kid.” Erin pats Ella on the back and runs off ahead of her towards the locker room. Ella smiles as she watches Erin go. She thinks maybe Erin was right and she’s going to have a good last game of the season.

* * *

 

Team bonding night is an absolute blast. The team does hipster night and everyone’s outfits are great. But Ella is tired at the end of the day. Like most days, she knows she’s had a productive day if she’s tired at the end of it.

“I’m tired.” Ella whines in the cab. She leans into Erin’s side and sticks out her bottom lip in an exaggerated pout.

“Quit whining.” Erin says but wraps her arm around Ella. “We’re almost home.” Erin says softly.

Ella smiles and snuggles into Erin’s side. She loves it every time Erin uses the word home to describe the building that they live in. It might be a silly thing but Ella thinks it’s the greatest thing.

Erin walks up the stairs with Ella. She finds her keys so she can unlock her door. The rest of their teammates were going to stay out a little longer but when Erin decided she wanted to go home Ella said she was coming with. They got some shit from their teammates about it but only in a loving, teasing way.

Ella’s super happy. She wraps her arm around Erin’s waist from behind and leans into her back as Erin unlocks the door. Ella’s happy that she had a great night out with the team. She knows things haven’t been the greatest in terms of her game or playing time for the past couple of weeks but it’s good to have a night out with the team and just have fun.

Erin gets the door open and they enter the apartment. She turns around to close the door but Ella’s already got it. Ella kicks the door shut and raises an eyebrow at Erin. With her arm still around Erin’s waist Ella switch their positions. Ella pushes Erin against the door and presses up against Erin with all her body weight.

“I thought you were tired.” Erin smirks. She’s no dummy though.

Ella doesn’t reply. Well, she doesn’t reply with words. She wraps her hand around the back of Erin’s neck and pulls Erin into a heated kiss.

Hands wander and shirts come off. That’s when Erin starts backing Ella up towards the bedroom.

It’s not until the backs of Ella’s legs hit the bed that she realizes what’s happening. She pushes gently at Erin’s shoulders to separate them. Ella looks at Erin with big eyes.

Erin licks her lips and looks at Ella. She tries to get her brain to work properly again. “What’s wrong?” Erin pants from their heavy make out session.

“I- I-“ Ella stutters. She brings her hands to her face and sits on the edge of the bed.

Erin sighs, frustrated. She knows this isn’t going any further.

Ella can read Erin body language even with her hands covering her face. “I’m sorry.” She apologizes.

Erin sits down on the bed next to Ella and puts her hand on Ella’s thigh. “Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.” She squeezes Ella’s leg gently. “It’s okay.” Erin doesn’t know if it really is but that’s what she says. “We can wait.” She has a feeling she knows what Ella is thinking without having to ask or having Ella say anything. “I won’t force you into anything you’re not ready for.”

Ella removes her hands from her face. Her cheeks are red. From embarrassment mostly but also from their previous activities. “I think I want to but- but I’m not ready yet.” Ella hasn’t fully come to term about having sex with a girl yet. And it’s not Erin. It has nothing to do with her specifically. It’s just the whole thought process in her head is a mess. She’s getting there but there is still something holding Ella back and she has to figure out what that is before she can move forward.

“I want to but it’s a big step.” It is a big step for Ella. To give herself to someone so fully. To be able to be comfortable and sure and to just let go. There are so many things and Ella just wants to make sure. She wants to be able to be sure and to commit and to not have second thoughts or regrets. It not just sex for her, it’s so much more. She wants it to truly mean something. Something more than just the physical.

“Okay.” Erin stands up. “I’m gonna go get ready for bed. I’ll give you a minute and I’ll be back.” Erin goes into the bathroom and collects herself. She thinks about taking a shower but decides against it. She wants to get back to Ella.

Ella, meanwhile, sits on the bed for a minute and just takes deep breathes in and out. She tries to calm everything in her body. It’s not a very easy task. She gets up after a minute and goes over to the dresser. She pulls out one of Erin’s t-shirts, taking her bra off, she pulls the shirt over her head then removes her jeans. Ella climbs into bed and gets under the covers.

Max jumps up on the bed sensing something is off. He goes over and cuddles up next to Ella and goes back to sleep. Ella turns onto her side and puts her hand on Max’s back.

“Well, isn’t this cute.” Erin smiles as she enters her room. She’s not even going to tell Max to get back to his doggy bed. She’ll let him be for tonight. Erin changes out of her clothes and into a tank top and shorts before getting into bed with Ella and Max.

* * *

 

Chicago wins the match in Kansas City 2 to 1. Ella was optimistic going into the game. She knew she wasn’t going to get the start but she hoped that when she was subbed in that she could make a difference in the game. Ella was subbed in and played 21 minutes at the end of the game.  It wasn’t ideal for her but the minutes she played were better than nothing.

Ella walks along the sideline after the game. She signs a couple of autographs for fans. Not too many people at away games know of her and want her autograph or want to talk to her. But there always a few. Ella looks around as the stands clear out. She takes everything in. The season is over. No more practices, no more games. Ella relishes in the feeling of playing on the pitch for one last time this year.

Jackie comes up behind Ella and puts a hand on her shoulder. “Whatcha thinking about?” She can see that Ella is lost in thought.

“Oh, just about it being the last game.” Ella says with a shrug.

“Ah. Season’s over. You got off-season plans your thinking about?” Jackie wonders what Ella has in mind for the coming months.

“Not really.” Ella doesn’t want to say one way or another what she wants to do or has planned or doesn’t have planned for the off season.

“No commitments? No training program?” Jackie asks.

“Not as of right now.” Ella says with a shrug.

“Oh.” Jackie mumbles. She’s known Ella for many years and has never known Ella to not have an off season plan. It’s very unusual.

The two walk to the visitor’s locker room side by side.

* * *

 

The team travel back to the hotel for the night.  And in the morning it’s back to Chicago.

* * *

 

There is one last team meeting scheduled for three pm. Everyone is to be there and then afterwards they are cleaning out their lockers. Ella strolls into the meeting room with headphones on her ears, oblivious to the world. She spots Erin sitting at the end of the giant table. Ella picks a spot that is on the opposite end of the room and has a seat.

Ella takes her headphones off when Rory enters the room. Everyone’s attention goes to him.

“Okay, everybody. This is our last official meeting of the season. Overall, I think it was a good season. Yes, we missed out on the playoffs but to even be close to vying for a spot the last few weeks was a big accomplishment. Do I wish it would have gone better? Yes. But, the season is over now. You are not under my watch anymore but I hope that you all, as professionals, keep up with your training during the offseason. We will be in touch and keeping tabs on each of you in the coming months. But, I know I’m going to need a few weeks off to wind down and recoup from the season. You ladies do the same and then get back at it.” Rory looks around the room.

“Clean out your lockers and get out of here.” He waves his hand in the direction of the door.

The group starts to get up but Shannon stops them. “Wait. Girls, let’s have one more team night.” She suggests and gets a few nods of the heads from the others.

“Tonight. At my house.” Shannon announces. “Everyone bring something. Let’s start a list. Can I have a piece of paper?” She asks Rory. He is always carrying around a folder and a notebook. Everyone knows he is always making notes. So, he has paper.

Rory rips a piece of paper out of his notebook and slaps it down on the table. He puts his pen down too.

“Okay. We can have tacos. But I’m only supplying the meat. Figure out what else to bring for tacos and then other things.” Shannon writes her name on the first line of the paper and to the right of that she writes the word meat.

“Write your name and what you’re bringing.” She instructs and passes the paper and pen down to the person to her left. “My house at six.” Shannon stands up and exits the room. “I want that list back before I leave.” She heads off to clean out her locker.

* * *

 

The team gets together for one last team night. It’s a casual movie night. Everyone brings a dish or something to add for the meal. Ella brings chips. Lori has the cheese. And Taryn brought the salsa. Little things like that that everyone can bring to add to the party.

“So, you want some help tomorrow?” Ella asks Taryn.

“Sure. If you wouldn’t mind. I don’t really have anyone else to help.” Taryn shrugs. She takes a sip of her soda.

“That’s what teammates are for. I got your back.” Ella slaps Taryn on the back.

“Thanks. And maybe you could enlist that Canadian of yours.” Taryn wiggles her eyebrows.

Ella raise her finger in front of Taryn face like she’s going to threaten her. After a moment, though, a smile cracks at Ella’s lips instead. “I’ll ask her.” Ella wanders away from Taryn without another word. Taryn stand there for a moment wondering about Ella and all her curious ways. She shakes her head before going to find someone else to talk to.

Ella walks through the house. She has one goal in mind and that’s to find Erin. But there’s a hand on her shoulder and Ella is spinning around to see who it belongs to.

Jackie smiles at Ella and holds out the drink that’s in her hand. “For you.” She says.

“What?” Ella looks between the drink and Jackie. “I can get my own. But thanks. I’m trying to find someone.” Ella thumbs backwards over her shoulder.

“Who?” Jackie smirks.

Ella frowns. “Don’t be like that.” She turns around and starts walking away from Jackie.

“Like what?” Jackie starts following after Ella.

Ella doesn’t stop, doesn’t bother to reply to Jackie. She just keeps going in her search for Erin. She goes into the kitchen and looks out the patio door where a number of their teammates are congregated outside. Ella spots Erin and smiles. She goes to the door and pushes it open. Ella turns around to close the door but Jackie is standing in the frame. “Move.” Ella mumbles.

Jackie smiles. “You’re so cute.”

Ella rolls her eyes. “Get lost.”

Ella shuts the door on Jackie and Jackie has to back up into the kitchen to prevent from being squished by the door. But that doesn’t deter her. Jackie stands at the patio door and watches as Ella moves around the group of girls until she reaches Erin. Ella reaches out and puts her hand on Erin’s upper arm softly. Jackie smiles. She’s watched them interact a lot since she found out and can clearly see that there is something serious going on there. Jackie doesn’t know how she didn’t see it before. Ella is a touchy-feeling person and she conveys a lot with her hands but Jackie didn’t notice the differences when Ella is with Erin, not until recently. Her touch is different with Erin than it is with everyone else. Gentle, soft, caring, and so full of love. Ella’s touch is so much more intimate with Erin than with anyone else and Jackie is just seeing that now. She sighs, happy for her friend, and steps away from the door.

Ella slide up next to Erin, running her palm over Erin’s arm before resting it on Erin’s left shoulder.

Erin instinctively slips her arm around Ella from behind, setting her hand on Ella’s hip. She looks over at Ella and smiles. “What’s up?”

Ella shrugs. She wanted to ask Erin about helping Taryn move out tomorrow but right now doesn’t really seem like the right time. Ella doesn’t want to forget though. “I tell you later.” Ella smiles and turns her attention to the group and listening in on the conversation that is ongoing.

Erin squeezes Ella’s hip and holds Ella tight to her side simply content to be with her teammate, friends, with her favorite teammate of them all at her side, literally.

* * *

 

Ella wakes up and stretches her arms above her head. “Morning time.” She yawns.

Erin stirs and rolls onto her side and into Ella’s side. Ella smiles down at the girl in bed with her. She reaches out and puts her hand on the top of Erin’s head and rubs her fingertips against Erin’s hair and scalp.

“Mmm. Feels good.” Erin says in a cute sleepy voice.

Ella grins and rubs at Erin’s head some more. “It might feel good but you have to get up.” Ella says.

“Why?” Erin whines.

“Cuz I told Taryn we would help her move out today.” Ella remembers just now that she forgot to ask Erin last night if she would be nice enough to help.

Erin lifts her head off of the pillow and looks up at Ella with one eye. One rather annoyed looking eye. “You did what?” Erin asks flatly.

Ella looks away from Erin. “Member last night at the party. I was supposed to ask you but I- forgot.” Ella looks back to Erin.

Erin rolls her eye and flops her head back on the pillow. “You’re lucky I’m nice.” She groans.

“You’re the nicest.” Ella tries to smooth things over with Erin by giving her compliments.

“Yeah. Yeah.” Erin mumbles into her pillow. “But just so you know- I was looking forward to lying in bed all day.”

“You can’t lay in bed all day. You wouldn’t let yourself.” Ella knows Erin. There’s no way Erin would stay in bed all day.

“Okay. All morning. I was planning on staying in bed- with you- all morning.” Erin peeks a look at Ella.

Ella has her lips pressed tightly together and is in deep thought. “Well.” Ella pushes herself up and out of bed. “I’m gonna get something to eat. And pee. I have to pee.” Ella says awkwardly as she points at the bedroom door.

Erin pushes herself up onto her elbows. “Are you alright?” Ella’s acting weirder than usual.

“Yep. Fine. Good. I’m gonna-“ Ella prances over to the door and opens it up and quickly makes her exit. She closes the door and leans back against it, closes her eyes, and takes a few deep breaths. She had to get out the room and fast or she was going to not be able to leave. The temptation to stay in bed with Erin is nearly too great to resist.

Ella opens her eyes and pushes off of the door and goes into the bathroom. She promised Taryn she would help and Ella isn’t going to break that promise whether Erin wants to help or not. She decides to let Erin do whatever she wants. If she doesn’t want to help and wants to stay in bed, in her room, that’s fine.

“Hey, T.” Ella enters the apartment. “How much stuff do we have to move?” Ella asks and looks around the room.

“Not a ton. But it’s more than I want do by myself. Where’s your muscle?” Taryn asks.

Ella makes fists and flexes her muscles. “Right here.” She grins.

Taryn rolls her eyes. “That’s not what I meant you dork. Where’s Erin?”

Ella shrugs. “At home. Sleeping. I don’t know.” Ella looks away from Taryn.

“Everything alright?” Taryn asks the obvious question.

Ella shrugs again. “Yeah. I guess. I just forgot to ask her last night and she didn’t really seem up to doing much this morning. Wanted to stay in bed.”

“How can a thirty-year-old be so much like teenage sometimes?” Taryn laughs.

“Right.” Ella agrees. “Let’s get started.” Ella spots a box and lifts it off the floor. “Where to?”

“Downstairs.” Taryn points to the door.

“Ugh. This is so not going to be fun.” Ella groans imagining going to down flights of stairs with boxes.

“I know.” Taryn says and gets a box of her own to carry.

Ella and Taryn are halfway through getting her boxes down and out of the building. It’s hot and Ella is all sweaty. Ella is on her way down with a box when she meets Lori and her boyfriend coming up. “Hey.” Lori greets. “Having fun?” She grins.

“Oh yeah.” Ella pants sarcastically and continues down the stairs.

Lori laughs and goes into the apartment.

It’s just after lunchtime when Ella and Taryn get everything moved out and onto a truck. Taryn just has a few odds and ends and then she’ll be done moving out.

Ella flops onto the couch and takes a little breather. “That’s more work than I wanted to do today.” She complains.

Lori laughs. “Does that mean you don’t want to help me?”

“Isn’t that what he’s for?” Ella points to Lori’s boyfriend.

“Well, yes, but an extra set of hands doesn’t hurt. Especially strong hands.” Lori tries to entice Ella into working by bragging up her muscles.

“Ya know, I don’t know if I’m that great with my hands.” Ella holds her hands out and looks at them.

“Where’s that goalkeeper that we know? I know she’s good with her hands.” Lori says.

Ella tries to refrain from thinking dirty thoughts but it doesn’t work. She ends up closing her eyes and shaking her head to try to get them to go away.

“Are you alright?” Lori ask at Ella’s weird antics.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I don’t know where she is. Hiding from doing this, I would imagine.” Ella frowns.

In actuality, Erin is doing some packing of her own. She has to get everything of hers packed and shipped out in the next couple of days.

“So, you gonna help or not?” Lori grins.

“Okay.” Ella pushes herself up from the couch. Being all hot and sweaty she might as well continue working and being hot and sweaty. With one roommate all moved out Ella helps Lori get everything of hers moved out of the apartment too.

They finish just before four in the afternoon. “Here ya go. The place is all yours.” Lori hands her apartment keys to Ella. Ella is going to be staying in the apartment until the end of the month so she takes Taryn and Lori’s keys and will take them all to the Super at the same time. “Don’t lose them.”

“I’m not five.” Ella rolls her eyes. “I’ve got it.” She takes the keys and puts them in her pocket. She’ll put all the keys on a key chain together later.

“Okay. It’s been a great year and I’ve had a great time being your roommate this year. You’re one of the good ones.” Lori says and pulls Ella in for a tight hug. “Have a good offseason. And don’t do anything too dumb.” Lori laughs knowing that Ella does dumb stuff some times.

“I won’t.” Ella promises.

They release from their embrace and take a look at each other. Lori’s boyfriend stands by the door, waiting.

“Leaving without saying goodbye.”

Lori spins around to see Erin standing in the doorway. “No.” She smiles. “I wouldn’t dare.” She jokes.

Erin comes in, holding her arms out, ready for an embrace. “See ya.” Erin says simply.

“Yeah.” Lori mumbles. She takes a step back and looks around the kitchen and living room area once more. “Okay, I think that’s it.”

They all share a nod and Ella walks Lori over to the door. “You guys drive safe.”

“We will.” Lori promises.

With that Lori and her boyfriend exit the apartment and start for the stairs. “Bye.” Ella yells after them.

“Bye.” Lori yells back.

Erin chuckles and wraps her arm around Ella. “She’s such a great person.” Erin says quietly.

“Yeah.” Ella agrees.

There’s a moment of silence before Ella finds the need to break it. “So what’s on tap for tonight?” She asks.

Erin turns and presses her lips to Ella’s forehead. “Any suggestion?” Erin asks.

“Not really.”

“Well, I think a nice laid back, relaxing night is in store of both of us.” Erin says with a smile. A few things pop into her mind for what they can do.

“Both of us. I’m the one who worked moving boxes all day. You didn’t do anything.” Ella complains.

“You don’t know what I did today.” Erin challenges.

“Well, it couldn’t have been anything as difficult as what I did.” Ella shoots back.

Erin releases her hold on Ella and starts walking towards the door, leaving Ella in her kitchen.

“Where are you going?” Ella calls after Erin.

Erin just keeps walking. Right out the door, across the hall, and into her apartment. Dri is sitting at the table eating dinner. She walks past her and into her room. Erin sits down on the end of the bed and waits. She doesn’t have to wait long. She knew she wouldn’t.

“Erin.” Ella yells as she enters the Canadians apartment. Dri turns around and gives Ella a curious look. Ella doesn’t pay attention to Dri and marches into Erin’s room. “Erin, don’t just walk away without explaining where-“ Ella stops in her tracks when she enters Erin’s room. “Oh.” Ella’s mouth hangs open at the sight of Erin’s room. It’s nearly empty. Most things packed away neatly into three boxes in the corner. “I-“ Ella mumbles.

“I’ve been busy today.” Erin smirks.

“I see that.” Ella looks around the room once more before locking eyes with Erin. Ella walks over and positions herself on Erin’s lap. Erin wraps her arms around Ella. “Sorry.” Ella says and ducks her head. “I didn’t know.” There’s a somber feeling in the room. The emptiness is one thing but the reason the room is empty is the most evident thing.

“Dri’s all ready to go. And I only have a few things left to get together. Maybe a couple hours of packing left to do.” Erin explains. “I was thinking a chill night would be in order for us. I was thinking beer and pizza and a movie and snuggles with my favorite girl and pup.”

Ella kisses Erin. “Sounds perfect to me.”

“How do you want to do this?” Erin asks.

“Delivery. I’ll order. You and Max go get the beer.” Ella grins.

Erin tightens her hold around Ella’s waist. “Good plan.” She leans in for a kiss before letting Ella go. Ella gets up and stands at the door. “You just wanna come over when you get back.”

“Sure.” Erin nods. She picks Max up from his bed and carries him over to where Ella is standing. “We’ll be back.” Erin pokes Ella’s nose and slips past her.

Ella sighs. She stands there a moment after Erin is gone. She doesn’t think she could plan up a more perfect night. It’s nothing fancy but that’s okay. It doesn’t need to be. As long as she’s with Erin it doesn’t matter what they are doing.

* * *

 

Erin walks into her apartment as Dri is rolling her suitcase out of her room and into the kitchen. “All ready to go?” Erin asks.

“Yep.” Dri waves her plane ticket and passport in the air for Erin to see. “Where’ve you been?”

“I’m gonna pretend you didn’t just ask that.” Erin deadpans.

Dri laughs. “Okay. Okay.” She’s won’t admit it out loud but she’s really going to miss this weird relationship thing that Erin and Ella have going on. “Where is that weirdo anyway?”

“Showering. Then we can go.” Erin supplies.

The plan is that Ella drives Dri to the airport. Erin is going with them, of course.

* * *

 

The apartment is quite. Not that it wasn’t quite when Dri was around because Dri was a quite person but there is an extra sense of quite now that she is gone.

Ella lays on Erin’s bed, staring up at the ceiling, Max sitting on her stomach. Erin is over in the corner by her art supplies. She hums as she works on taking everything apart and packing it up to be shipped back to Vancouver.

“Erin.” Ella calls out as she scratches Max behind the ears.

“Yes, Ella.” Erin sings out.

“What’s gonna happen now that the season is over?” Ella asks, she frowns at Max as she pets him.

Erin thought they had talked about this already. She told Ella what her plans were and Ella told her what she wanted to do in the off season. “We already went over this.” Erin sighs. She doesn’t really want to rehash everything.

“No.” Ella shakes her head. “We didn’t.” She sits up and sets Max on the bed next to her, turning her whole attention to Erin.

Erin, however, has her back to Ella. “Yeah, we did. I told you about Hawaii, and my art show, and Vancouver. And you have your sister’s wedding and spending time with the girls and your mom and stuff.”

“And stuff, Erin?” Ella huffs. She folds her arms over her chest.

Erin gulps. She knows she’s in trouble now. Erin sets her paint brushes down and turns around to face Ella. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Ella pouts and stares down at her lap.

Erin goes over to the bed and sits on the edge, by Ella’s legs. She puts her hand on Ella’s ankle. “Ella?” She questions. “What’s going on?”

Ella huffs out a disgruntled breath. “What’s gonna happen now that the season is over?” She asks her original question again but adds more this time. “What happens when you leave? Are we going to quit dating or whatever? Will we still date but like long distance? Does that even work? When are we going to see each other again?” Ella rambles with her questions.

Erin’s eyes widen with each added question. “Woah there.” She squeezes Ella’s ankle. “Okay.” Erin takes a deep breath. “Let’s just tackle one question at a time.” Erin wonders where all of this is coming from. Ella seemed to be fine a few minutes ago. She was playing with Max and laughing and having a good time.

“What do you want to happen?” Erin asks.

“I want- I want- I don’t know what I want.” Ella finally looks up and over at Erin. She bites her lip nervously. “No one’s ever asked me that before.” Ella shrugs. “Well, not in this sense. I’ve been asked that in regards to my professional career, in regards to my soccer. But never- no one’s ever- you- I don’t know what I want. That’s part of the problem.”

“Okay.” Erin gets off the bed.

“Where are you going?” Ella asks, confused.

“Over here.” Erin points to the head of the bed. “Come sit with me.” She sits on the bed with her back against the headboard, and spread her legs for Ella to sit between. Erin pats the spot between her legs. “Sit.” She whispers to Ella. Ella nods and moves across the bed and settles into the spot. She leans back against Erin and Erin wraps her arms around Ella. Erin rests her chin on Ella’s shoulder.

“Well, Ella Masar, what do you want?” Erin asks softly.

Ella sighs. It’s really a simple question. But the answer is complicated. “You want me to be honest?” Ella asks.

“Very much so.” Erin kisses Ella’s cheek.

Ella grabs onto Erin’s arms that are around her waist and holds on tightly. She takes a deep breath. “I don’t really like the idea of long distance. I’ve done that. And for the most part it didn’t worked. I also don’t like the idea of breaking up or whatever. Not that a few dates means we’re together.”

Erin frowns. Ella still doesn’t think of them as being together. That makes Erin sad.

“I’m scared to do anything, really.” Ella sighs. “I’m scared of what I want. How pathetic is that?”

“It’s not.” Erin says calmly. “It’s not, Ella.”

“Then why do I feel pathetic when I think about what I want and come up without a solid answer?” Ella asks, frustrated.

“Sometimes it just takes time.” Erin shrugs. She wishes Ella knew. She wishes Ella was certain and confident. She wishes they could move past uncertain times and questions of life and what’s right and what’s wrong. She wishes all of it was sorted out. But it’s not. And Erin knows that. She knows. She knows she has to be patient. She knows she has to be present. She knows she has to not put too much pressure on the situation. As difficult as that might be.

“Can I tell you what I want to happen?” Erin asks, changing the tune of the conversation.

“Sure.” Ella says with very little enthusiasm.

“I want to spend the next couple of days with you and soak up as much time with you as possible before I go. I want you to bring me to the airport. I want to be in contact with you after I leave. I want to talk to you and text you and Skype with you or Facetime with you every day. I want to see that beautiful face of yours, even if we’re not in the same place. I don’t know what’s gonna happen in the offseason. But, that’s what I want to happen. And I know that everyday might not be possible but as much as possible I want to hear your voice and see your face.” Erin squeezes Ella tight. “We can see what happens. You mean so much to me.  And I agree with you. I don’t like long distance. But I don’t like the idea of not having any contact with you more.”

“We’ll see how it goes.” Ella nods. Erin talks with such optimism that she starts to think that it’s possible.

“We’ll see how it goes.” Erin repeats. “It’s not like we can go out on a date when we are in different cities.” Erin jokes. “But, we can have Facetime dates. And watch movies together. And have dinner together.”

“We live in different time zones.” Ella turns her head around so she can look at Erin.

Erin chuckles. “So maybe you can have dinner and I’ll just have an afternoon snack.” She grins. Ella bites her lip. “I love you, Ella. And I don’t want this to stop. You and me. I’m not ready for this to be over.”

Ella turns in Erin’s arms so she can kiss her. “You’re so smart. So talented. So many things.” Ella coos. Her emotions are a sloppy mess and she doesn’t know quite how to express them.

Erin tilts her head to the side. “Thanks, babe.” She kisses Ella soundly. “What do you say about taking a break and just laying here for a while.”

“I say that’s the perfect idea.” Ella kisses Erin again. She resituates herself in Erin’s lap, straddling her legs. Ella reaches up and puts both her hands on Erin’s face. She grins before coming in for a kiss, tilting her head to the side, deepening the kiss that elicits a moan from Erin.

* * *

 

Ella is playing with Max, again, while Erin packs up the remainder of her things. She lays on her back, on the bed, with laying Max on her stomach. He suddenly stands up and attacks Ella’s face with kisses. Ella laughs and pushes Max off of her. “Maxwell.” She says with a dopey smile. Ella doesn’t particularly like dog slobber all over her face but she loves that Max likes her and wants to show her that he does.

Ella rolls onto her side and holds Max by her waist, underneath her arm. “I’m gonna miss my boy.” Ella sighs sadly.

Erin looks over at the two of them and smiles. “He’s not your boy.” Erin corrects. “He’s my dog.”

Ella looks over and Erin and bites her lip. “I’m gonna miss you too.”

Erin smirks. “I would hope so. I’m awesome.” She does a goofy little dance that has Ella laughing in a second. Erin dances over to the bed and kneels on it with one knee. She bends at the waist and leans in for a kiss. Erin interrupts Ella’s laughing with her lips. The laughing ceases as soon as their lips meet.

“That you are.” Ella says following the kiss.

* * *

 

They end up spending one last night in Erin’s apartment. In Erin’s room. In Erin’s bed, wrapped together in the sheets spending some quite time together. Not much is spoken by either girl. There’s a certain feel to the whole evening. They’re just living in the moment and soaking up as much of the other person as possible. Ella and Erin both know, without having to say it, that their time is limited and quickly dwindling.

Ella falls asleep with her head on Erin’s shoulder, her arm over Erin’s waist.

“Goodnight, beautiful.” Erin kisses the top of Ella’s head. “I love you.”


	21. Chapter 21

It’s Erin’s last night in Chicago. She wants to do something special for Ella before she goes. So Erin plans a dinner date for the two of them. Erin texts Ella to make sure that the girl doesn’t have any evening plans. Erin knows she doesn’t have any plans but she just wants to make sure.

**You got plans for tonite?** Erin sends the text out.

She gets a reply right away. **Nope. Just hanging with you. ;)**

Erin smiles at her phone. **What are you doing now?**

Erin stands in her empty room. Everything she owns that was in the room has now been packed up and has been shipped or is ready to be shipped. Except for her suitcase that she’s going to bring on the plane, everything is ready to go, so to speak. The bed has even been stripped of its coverings. It’s a funny feeling for Erin. This place that she’s called home since March now lies vacant with hardly any indication that she was even there.

Her phone beeps with an incoming text and Erin sighs. **Watching a movie.**

Erin nods. There’s not much more she can do in her apartment. She knows Ella was giving her space, time to finish packing. They both know it wouldn’t get done with Ella hanging around Erin’s room. Erin grabs her keys and goes across the hall. She knocks, then checks the door, it’s unlocked so she goes in.

Ella looks over at the door and smiles at who she sees entering the apartment.

Erin rolls her eyes. Ella is laying on the couch, no shirt on, in soccer shorts, with a bowl of popcorn resting on her stomach. She goes over to the couch pressing her lips to Ella’s forehead. “We’re going out to eat tonight. Wear something nice.” Erin says and goes to the end of the couch. She lifts Ella’s feet and sits down.

Ella scoots up a little bit. “So, like a date?” Ella asks.

“Yeah.” Erin looks to the tv to see if she recognizes the movie that Ella is watching. She doesn’t. “I wanted to do something before-“ Erin doesn’t finish her sentence. They both know what she was going to say. Ella’s not very excited about the fact that Erin is leaving in the morning.

“What else?” Ella move forward with the conversation

“What do you mean, what else?” Erin looks over at the blonde. She reaches into the bowl and grabs a handful of popcorn and brings it to her mouth.

“What else are we doing tonight? Do you have anything else planned? That, what else.” Ella asks playfully.

Erin sticks out her tongue at Ella. “I didn’t really have anything else planned besides dinner. I made reservations for seven. I hope that’s okay?” Erin wants to make sure. “We could go for a walk in the park or something afterwards.”

“That sounds good.” Ella nods. She takes some more popcorn from her bowl.

“You’re gonna spoil your dinner.” Erin says as Ella chews her popcorn.

Ella pauses, stops chewing. “Okay, mom.”

Erin rolls her eyes. “I’m just saying.” Erin holds her palms up to the sky. “Save some room.”

Ella just grins.

“I’m gonna go back across the hall and get ready. You do the same.” Erin pats at Ella’s shins and gets up from the couch.

“Are you all done packing?” Ella asks, setting her nearly empty bowl of popcorn on the floor. She gets up from the couch and follows Erin to the door.

Erin turns around and leans with her back to the door. “Yep.”

“Oh.” Ella looks down at the floor. It’s one more step closer to Erin leaving.

* * *

 

Erin holds Ella’s hand firmly in hers as they walk through the park. It’s a hot, muggy night in Chicago. There’s a typical steamy late August feel to the air. They walk slowly. There’s no rush. It’s actually the opposite. Erin wishes time could just stop and tonight could last forever. She doesn’t want tomorrow to come.

“What are you thinking?” Erin asks quietly.

Ella huffs out a breath. “Not much. Just thinking about dinner and tonight.”

Erin nods. They’re on the same page then. “Let’s get home.” Erin tugs on Ella’s hand and picks up the pace a little. Not that she’s in a hurry but she has a few things on her mind that she wants to do before the day is over.

Erin waits as Ella unlocks her apartment door. Before dinner, Erin brought her suitcase and Maxwell and his things over to Ella’s apartment leaving nothing left in her apartment. The plan is to spend the night with Ella, at Ella’s, and then go to the airport in the morning.

Max greets them at the door once Ella gets it open. “Hey, buddy.” Ella bends at the waist and gives him a good scratch. She then goes over to the counter and gets a treat out of the bag for him. “Here ya go.” She holds the treat out in her hand and Max licks it from her fingers.

“You can’t just feed him treats.” Erin scolds.

“Oh no, Max. I’m in trouble.” Ella chuckles. “Your mommy is yelling at me.”

“I’m not yelling.” Erin puts her hands on her hips. “I’m just saying that he can’t just eat treats. He’ll get fat. He has to have dog food and only a few treats.”

Ella looks to Max. “Someone’s no fun.” She frowns.

Erin rolls her eyes. She takes Max’s bowl and fills it with his dinner and sets it on the floor so he can eat. Ella watches as Erin moves about the kitchen. Erin takes Max’s water bowl and goes to the sink and fills it. She then sets the water next to his food dish. “Enjoy.” Erin says with a smile as she watches her pup eat. She so focused on Max that she doesn’t notice Ella lurking at her side.

Ella reaches out and wraps her fingers around Erin’s wrist. That gets Erin’s attention and she looks over at the blonde. “What?” She asks dumbly.

Ella doesn’t say anything. Instead, she tugs on Erin’s wrist and starts walking to her bedroom, pulling Erin along behind her. Ella pulls Erin into her room and shuts the door. She leans against the door and smiles shyly at Erin.

Erin puts her hands on her hips. “Sooo?” She wonders curiously about what is on Ella’s mind right now.

Ella, appearing calm, walks past Erin and over to the bed. Erin spins around and watches Ella closely. Ella sits on the edge of the bed and looks up at Erin. “Erin.” Ella’s voice cracks.

“Yes?” Erin tilts her head to the side, curiously.

Ella thinks, at least partially, that this isn’t fair. That what she’s about to do isn’t fair. It’s not fair to herself and it’s definitely not fair to Erin. But, as they say, life isn’t fair. While, what Ella is about to say might not be fair, it’s the truth. And the truth deserves to be told. This needs to happen and it needs to happen now. No matter how crappy the timing.

Ella takes a deep breath and says what she’s been preparing to share. “Erin, I- I love you.” She stutters.

Erin stands in her spot for a moment, not believing it. “Come again.” Erin’s mouth hangs open. She needs Ella to repeat what she just said. Erin thinks maybe she heard Ella wrong or was hearing things that weren’t actually being spoken.

Ella looks down at the floor, timid. “I love you.” She says quietly.

Erin takes the two large steps that it requires to get to Ella. She crashes into Ella’s side and wraps her arms around the girl. Erin leans into Ella with all her weight. Ella, out of surprise, can’t support Erin crashing into her and falls over onto the bed.

“Erin.” Ella squawks in surprise. “What are you doing?”

Erin’s lips find their way to Ella’s face. Kissing, first, her cheek and then temple and anywhere else that she can reach. “Ella.” Erin sighs happily. She can’t believe it. Well, she can, but it comes as a little bit of a shock. And today of all days.

Erin rearranges herself so she’s hovering over Ella on her hands and knees. Ella rolls onto her back underneath Erin. Erin leans down for a kiss. A proper kiss. One that conveys all the love and emotions she feels for Ella.

“I love you.” Erin beams after their kiss. “It’s scary to love someone and not be sure if they can or will love you back.” Erin explains some of the things she’s been thinking and feeling over the last few weeks. “It’s hard to be open and vulnerable to that but I’ve tried to do that each day for the last couple of months. I’m just so happy right now. I can’t believe- You love me?” She has to ask.

Ella chuckles. “Yeah, ya dork.” She rolls her eyes. “What, you didn’t think I did?”

“Well, I mean, you never said it.” Erin shrugs. She was pretty positive that Ella loved her but since Ella never verbalized it she had her doubts.

Ella wraps her arms around Erin and pulls her down on top of herself. “I love you.” She assures Erin. Ella feels a sense of freeness with the words. Like something has been let out of her. She isn’t carrying it around like a secret anymore. Relief is mostly what she feels.

Ella runs her palms up and down Erin’s back. Erin hums at the contact. She’s relishing in this new revelation. She relishes in everything that is Ella. Erin turns her head to the side so she can kiss Ella’s cheek. It starts with a cheek kiss but certainly doesn’t end there.

Erin pushes herself up onto her elbows and looks down at the wonderful girl beneath her. Erin smiles before leaning down for a kiss. A slow kiss. Erin takes the lead. She takes her time.

Ella’s hands move to find skin underneath the back of Erin’s shirt. They roam and grasp and map out every inch of Erin’s back. The higher they go, the higher Erin’s shirt gets until it’s all bunched up under Erin’s arms. “Off.” Ella mumbles into their kiss.

Erin stops everything. She looks down at Ella with a serious expression, a serious question, on her face. “Yeah?” Erin asks.

Ella nods. “Yeah.”

Erin’s shirt comes off quickly. Ella’s follows in quick order.

It’s not long before Erin is asking another question. An important one that she feels she has to ask for Ella and for herself. “Ella, are you sure?” She won’t proceed if there is any hesitance from Ella.

“Yes.” Ella nods. She’s nervous but she can hardly feel it. Ella is more in tune with her emotions and her body right now then she thinks she’s ever been in her entire life. She is trying to not think too much and just feel and be present in the moment. And what a moment it is.

Erin’s lips find the delicate skin of Ella’s pulse point in her neck. She has every intention of going slow and taking her time and appreciating every inch of Ella’s body.

* * *

 

Ella lays on her back with her eyes closed. Her whole body tingles with a feeling that she’s never experienced before. It’s exhilarating. Erin lays on side next to Ella, her arm draped across the blonde’s body, her finger stroking the skin on Ella’s right arm.

Erin’s had the idea rolling around in her brain for a few days now. Ever since Ella started asking about what’s going to happen between them now that the season is over. She wants to really cement this relationship before she goes. What just happened might help with that but Erin thinks what she wants to ask Ella will cement it further. Erin would have asked sooner but Ella was so all over the place that it never felt quite right. Right now. Lying in bed, naked, with the girl she loves feels like the right moment. It’s the right time.

“Ella?” Erin nearly whispers. She strokes her fingertips up and down the outside of Ella’s arm.

“Hmm.” Ella hums. Her eyes are closed as her heart beats wildly in her chest. She takes in every second and tries to commit it to memory. Her whole body tingles with a glorious post-sex bliss. It’s an exhilarating feeling.

“Will you be my girlfriend?” Erin asks, her eyes focusing in on Ella’s face.

At first, Ella doesn’t register the words being spoken to her. They’re just words. But then the depth of them strikes her. Her mind races. The calm blissful feeling is washed away by thoughts. Ella opens her eyes and looks directly at Erin.

“Erin.” Ella scrunches up her face.

Erin knows, somehow, that this isn’t going to be good. She has that sinking feeling. This isn’t going to end like she wants it to.

Ella puts her palm on Erin’s shoulder. “I don’t know.” She bites her lip. Ella doesn’t think it’s a good idea. The season is over and Erin is going back to Vancouver. Ella doesn’t know exactly what her offseason plans are but she knows they won’t be near Erin. She’s most likely going to be staying in Illinois for the offseason.

Erin takes in a big breath of air and exhales loudly, feeling absolutely defeated. She doesn’t understand. Erin thought that this is possibly what Ella wanted. With all her questions. This is an answer. In Erin’s mind, it was _the_ answer. She thought Ella liked her. Loved her. Erin got that confirmation tonight. She thought that this was it. The final piece to a difficult puzzle that they’ve been trying to put together for months now. Apparently, Erin was wrong.

Erin looks away from Ella and over at the bedroom door. “I thought you loved me?” Erin mumbles, the disappointment clear in her voice.

Ella sighs sadly. She doesn’t want to make Erin sad. Ella hates it when people are sad. She hates it when Erin is sad, especially. Ella reaches up and holds Erin’s face in her hands are turns Erin’s head back to face her. She sees the sad look in Erin’s eyes and it makes Ella feel that much worse. What she’s about to do is going to be even harder with those sad brown eyes staring back at her. Ella leans in and kisses Erin. “I do.” Ella whispers against Erin’s lips.

Erin pulls back slightly. “What?” She looks down at Ella. The blonde still has her eyes closed. She also has a pained look on her face.

“I do.” Ella sighs. “I do love you.” She opens her eyes and looks at Erin afraid of what she’s going to see on Erin’s face. Ella, mostly, sees confusion.

“I don’t want to commit to something right now. I don’t think the timing is right. We aren’t going to be in the same city. The same state. Hell, we’re not even going to be in the same country.” Ella explains her reasons.

Erin does get that but she just thought that everything that just happened that it meant that Ella wanted to be with her. Erin rolls over, away from Ella, frustrated. She reaches for her shorts on the floor before getting out of bed and putting them on. That is followed by Erin pulling a t-shirt over her head.

“What are you doing?” Ella pulls the bedsheet up to her armpits and rolls onto her left side, facing Erin.

“I’m taking Max for a walk. Are your keys on the counter?” Erin needs some time alone. She needs some time to think.

“Erin.” Ella says desperately.

“Are they?” Erin snips.

Ella nods. She watches silently as Erin walks over to the door and exits the room, shutting the door, leaving Ella alone in bed. Ella flops onto her back and brings her hands up to her face. With her left hand resting on the top of her head, Ella runs the other over her face. She feels like shit all of a sudden. She’s crashed down from that happy high that she was on.

Ella thinks about what she can do when Erin gets back to ‘make it better’. Though, Ella knows that nothing she does now is truly going to make things better or undo what has been done. What she said can’t be taken back or undone no matter how hard Ella tries.

Ella waits for Erin to return. She puts some clothes back on and pulls her hair up into a messy bun on the top of her head.

Ella hears Erin reenter the apartment. She hears Erin talking to Max. She hears Erin stop outside the bedroom door. There are several seconds that go by and Ella knows that Erin is standing on the other side of the door. She waits and eventually the knob turns and the door opens up.

Erin enters the room and slides up to the left side of the bed. She sits on the edge of the bed with her hands on her knees and takes a few deep breaths. Ella wonders if Erin is going to say something. She wonders what Erin is going to do.

Erin gets into bed again and lays on her back. She pulls the sheets up to her chin. There’s an uncertain silence in the room that doesn’t go unnoticed by either of them. Ella is all sorts of awkward, fidgeting and moving uncomfortably. After several seconds of the two of them just lying there Ella rolls onto her side to face Erin.

But, Erin rolls over, away from Ella. She puts her back to Ella even though she wants to be close to her, physically. Erin feels sad, rejected, and hurt by Ella and that overrides what she wants.

Ella puts her hand on Erin’s arm and scoots up right behind her. “I love you.” She whispers. “I do.” Ella pauses and licks her lips. She thinks about what she’s going to say next. “That’s the hardest part of all of this. But-“ Ella hesitates. “-I don’t think I can do it. The long distance. I did that with my last relationship and it ended in disaster.” Ella rubs her hand up and down Erin’s arm slowly, gently. “Yes, there were other factors but that was one of them. A big one. It terrifies me like you wouldn’t believe. So I can’t do it.” Ella doesn’t want what happened with her last relationship to happen to them. She doesn’t want to have to go through that again and she doesn’t want to have to put Erin through that.

“So, that’s why I said no to being your girlfriend. Believe me, Erin, please. It’s not something else. It’s not cause I don’t want to be with you. It’s not cause of some shame or something stupid like that. It has nothing to do with my faith or my religion. It’s doesn’t, I swear.” Ella wants what’s best in this situation for both of them. Together and individually.

Ella sighs sadly when she doesn’t get any response from Erin. “Love- is not the problem. I just don’t want to get into something to have it end badly. We’re teammates. We have to get along no matter what. We have to play on the same team.” Ella mentions some valid points that would make things awkward and difficult if things went south.

“I thought you didn’t know if you wanted to play soccer anymore.” Erin says bitterly.

Ella doesn’t miss the harsh bite in Erin’s voice that is directed at her. She doesn’t particularly like it but Ella knows that she’s the one who is responsible for putting it there. She shrugs. “I don’t know-“ Ella realizes that Erin’s comment isn’t really the point but she addresses it anyway. “-but if something did happen and we had to be on the same team.” She says vaguely but both of them understand exactly what Ella is getting at.

Erin just doesn’t understand. These are all hypothetically situation. They’re ‘what ifs’. But she does understand where Ella is coming from. She understands that completely. Erin has to go back to Canada and play on the same team as her ex. Who she hasn’t seen or spoken to since they broke up. Erin imagines that will be all sorts of awkward and uncomfortable.

Ella kisses the back of Erin’s shoulder. “Sometimes love isn’t enough.” Ella’s words hurt when she says them. Her heart breaks with her own words. She knows they have the same effect on Erin. “If nothing else-“ Ella swallows the lump in her throat. “-we’ll always have today, tonight.” It hurts so much to say but Ella doesn’t know when she’ll see Erin again.

Erin’s breathing stops of a few seconds. She can’t believe this is happening. Ella is breaking up with her before they were even really together. She swallows the lump in her throat and is determined not to cry, not to show weakness, sadness. “Goodnight, Ella.” Erin says firmly.

Ella knows she’s not going to get anything else out of Erin tonight. She knows she just crushed Erin’s spirits, and her heart, probably into a million little pieces. Ella thinks this is the best decision right now. She doesn’t want Erin to get too attached- even though that’s already happened- and leave.

If Ella’s not going to see Erin until next season she would rather be single and not have to deal with all of the issues and challenges a long distance relationship would bring. Ella doesn’t know what happens after tonight but she knows that she needs to make the best decisions for herself right now even if they are hard decisions.

Ella wraps her right arm around Erin and holds her tight. She presses her lips to the back of Erin’s neck and holds them there. She stays in that moment for as long as she can.

Erin lays there silent, still, with Ella wrapped around her body. She wishes that sleep would just take her away from this painful moment.

* * *

 

They wake up in the morning to the sound of Erin’s alarm buzzing at full volume. The atmosphere in the room is awkward, to say the least. What is the protocol for waking up the morning after sleeping next to someone all night who broke up with you when you asked them to be your girlfriend?

Erin stretches her arms over her head and looks over at Ella. Ella is staring at her expectantly. Erin gives Ella a tight-lipped smile. She leans into Ella and kisses her forehead and then rolls over and out of bed. Erin changes her clothes and puts the clothes she wore to bed in her suitcase. She puts everything in her suitcase that she doesn’t need anymore.

Ella watches as Erin moves about her room. It’s weird and she needs to do something else. Ella looks at her phones but the first thing she sees is the date. Friday, August, 23, 2013 her phone screen shows. “It’s the 23rd.” Ella mumbles.

“What?” Erin heard Ella says something but didn’t hear what it was.

Ella looks up at Erin from her phone. “It’s the 23rd.” Ella’s face is pale; her eyes are void of anything. She looks out the window like she expects to see something there.

That’s when all the dots connect for Erin.

Ella gets out of bed and goes to the window. She wraps her arms around herself in a tight hug. “People leave on the 23rd.” Ella says in a creepy monotone voice as she stares out the window blankly.

Erin hadn’t thought of it. She didn’t realize that her flight was on the 23rd. She feels incredibly terrible about it even though it wasn’t intentional and just happens to be a horrible coincidence.

“My dad-“

“I know.” Erin cuts Ella off before she can say anything else. She rushes over to the window to where Ella is standing and wraps Ella up in her arms from behind. “I’m sorry.” Erin whispers into Ella’s ear and kisses the spot just behind her ear.

Ella shrugs. She tries to brush Erin off of her and brush the situation off as if it were nothing. But, it’s really effecting her. Ella closes her eyes and tries not to think, just feel. She feels Erin all around her. She feels how sorry Erin is even though it’s not her fault. Ella knows it’s purely coincidence. She knows that it’s not on purpose that Erin’s flight is today. But the irony is not lost on her. A weird, cryptic sort of irony.

Erin presses her lips to Ella’s shoulder and stands there with her like that for a few minutes. She’s not going to rush Ella even though she has to get to the airport. She waits. She holds onto Ella until Ella says it’s okay.

“Let’s get you to the airport.” Ella finally interrupts the silence.

Erin releases her hold on Ella and takes a step back. Ella turns around with a sad face. “I’ll make some breakfast and you take Max for a walk. Okay?” Ella tells Erin.

Erin nods and starts for the bedroom door. She opens the door and Maxwell is standing on the other side. “Go say good morning to Ella. Then we’re going for a walk.” Erin tells the pup.

Max runs past Erin and stops at Ella’s feet. Ella bends over and picks the pup up and holds him. Max goes in for kisses right away. Ella laughs as Max licks her face. She thinks he knows she was in a bad mood and he knew just how to cheer her up.

“Okay, enough, Max.” Ella pulls him away from her face and sets him back on the floor. She looks up and spots Erin leaning in the doorframe with a content smile on her face. “What?” Ella asks and straightens her shirt.

Erin just shakes her head and turns around, walking away from Ella. “Come on, Max.” She says and goes for the apartment door. A small smile is still present on Erin’s face as she takes Max out for his walk. She’s going to miss seeing Max and Ella interact together. She’s going to miss a lot of things about Chicago, in Chicago.

* * *

 

It was many days ago that Ella decided that she was personally bringing Erin to the airport. So now that’s what they are doing. Ella drives and Erin sits in the passenger’s seat with Max sitting on her lap. Erin looks out the window as the scenery passes by.

“We can text.” Ella says out of nowhere.

“What?” Erin turns to look at her.

Ella glances at Erin quickly before getting her eyes back to the road.

“We can like text each other and stuff.” Ella says awkwardly. She grips the wheel harder than necessary.

“Oh.” Erin nods. “Sure.” She doesn’t really know what Ella is getting at. She doesn’t really know what or when Ella is talking about.

“Like when you’re in Vancouver and I’m-“ Ella doesn’t bother finishing that thought. “Or talk. Whatever. I don’t- last night- I didn’t mean.” Ella takes a deep breath. “I want to be your friend.”

“Okay.” Erin looks out the window again. Just like Ella didn’t want to commit to a relationship last night Erin doesn’t want to commit to anything right now. That way if something goes sour she doesn’t have to go back on her word. “Whatever you want.” Erin sighs.

“Erin, don’t be like that.” Ella scolds.

Erin would say something back but doesn’t want to start an argument right now. That would make things even worse than they already are. She’s already departing on uncertain terms she doesn’t need to add any negative feelings to the mix.

“Sorry.” Erin mumbles. “We can still be friends.” Erin agrees.

Ella smiles a little but it disappears just as soon as it came.

They ride in silent for a few minutes with the exception of the radio playing softly in the background. Erin’s mostly thinking of the events of the last 24 hours and how weird it all seems now. Her mind sticks on something.

“So, do you regret last night?” Erin asks.

Ella glances over at Erin. She’s a bit confused as to what Erin is referencing. “What part?” She dares to ask.

Erin side eyes Ella. “You know what I’m talking.” She doesn’t believe that Ella doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She’s has to just be playing dumb. “The part in bed.”

“Sleeping?” Ella tries to joke.

“Knock it off.” Erin frowns, unamused.

“Okay. Okay.” Ella says quickly. “I know what you’re talking about.” She takes Erin’s hand. “Sex.” Ella winks and brings Erin hand to her lips kissing the back of it. “No, not at all.” Ella puts their hands down in her lap, still holding Erin’s and rubbing her thumb over the soft skin of the back of her hand.

Erin is surprised. She would have thought with how the night ended, how it turned out that Ella might have different thoughts this morning on the events of last night. “Really?”

Ella nods. “No regrets.” She squeezes Erin’s hand.

Erin has to take Ella at her word. As strange as it may be.

They get to the airport and Ella parks the car in short term parking. “You know you could just drop me off at the door.” Erin says.

“And what fun would that be?” Ella sticks her tongue out. She’s in a very weird mood. It’s mostly a cover. Inside, she’s all nervous and anxious and so many other emotions that she can’t even name properly at the moment. “Plus, I have to say goodbye to Mr. Maxwell.” She takes the dog from Erin’s lap and gets out of the car.

Ella carries Max into the airport and waits with him while Erin goes to the desk to check her bag and get everything in order.

Erin comes over to the two when she is finished. “Okay, Max. Time to go.” She looks to the little pup. He’s a seasoned traveler so it’s not a big deal for him to fly anymore. He loves airports and watching all the people. Erin holds out her arms to take Max.

Ella holds Max hostage and won’t give him to Erin. “I’ll walk you to security.” Ella tries to keep all her emotions in check but she can feel herself getting more and more upset with every step they take to the security area.

“Okay.” Erin says when they reach security. She gets Max’s leash out and hooks him up to it. She doesn’t want him running off. Ella sets Max down once he’s on his leash and he looks around curiously.

“So, this is where we-“ Erin says and thumbs over her shoulder at the security line.

“Yeah.” Ella bounces awkwardly on her toes.

Erin looks around. This is the most awkward airport experience she’s ever had with someone. What does she say? What does she do?

“So, I’ll say ya.” Erin bites her lip, so unsure of what to do. When Ella doesn’t say or do anything Erin turns to leave.

“Wait.” Ella stops her.

Erin looks back at Ella and quirks an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

Ella steps forward and wraps her arms around Erin. “Thank you.” Ella says and that’s when it starts. At first it’s just a sniffle but it escalates quickly. “Thank you for being so great. For being who you are.” The tears start rolling down Ella’s cheeks. She continues though. “The last couple of days have been great.” It’s such a broad statement but Ella can’t be very specific right now. “I’m going to miss you, Erin.” Ella cries into Erin’s shoulder.

Erin hugs Ella as tightly as she can with one arm. “The feeling’s mutual, kid.” Erin tries to joke in an attempt to get Ella to pull herself together but it doesn’t work.

Ella instead holds on tight. But only briefly before she is letting go and wiping at her eyes. “I’m such a mess.” Ella chuckles awkwardly through her still falling tears.

“Yeah, ya are.” Erin smiles. “Max.” She jiggles his leash and he looks up at Erin. “Say goodbye to Ella.”

Ella takes that as a cue. She squats down to Max’s level. He comes over and puts his front paws up on Ella’s knee. “Bye, buddy. I’m gonna miss you.” Ella scratches behind his ear and he sticks his tongue out and pants happily.

“Time to go.” Erin jiggles the leash again. Ella stands tall again and looks to Erin. They share tight-lipped smiles. “Bye.” Erin whispers.

“Bye.” Ella mouths back.

Erin turns away from Ella. She and Max go to the security line and get ready to go through security. Ella stands there and watches as Erin goes through security until she can’t see her anymore. She looks around once Erin disappears into the airport somewhere. There are a few people that are looking at her curiously. She wipes at her eyes and shakes her head. Ella looks down at the floor and stuffs her hands into her pants pockets and makes her way towards where her car is parked. She doesn’t know if she’s ever experienced a sadder goodbye with someone.

* * *

 

Erin stays strong. It doesn’t really hit her until she’s on the plane and it’s taking off. It’s a perfect, clear day and Erin can see the whole greater Chicago area as the plane is taking off. It hits her then as she sees the Chicago skyline in the distance.

Erin realizes that she doesn’t know when she’s going to be back in Chicago again. She doesn’t know when she’s going to see Ella again. Sure, deep down Erin knew these things but now that she’s in the air and on her way to Vancouver it’s alarmingly real.

Erin puts her sunglasses on so no one can see her eyes. She’s afraid that they will betray her at any second now.

It’s a long offseason and Erin has to be in Canada most of the time. She knows her and Ella aren’t together. They’re not an item, a couple. After last night, she knows that much. But she doesn’t want to let Ella fall out of her life for the next six months. Erin is scared that if she’s not around Ella is going to change her mind. That’s what she’s most afraid of right now. That Ella will change her thoughts on the possibility of them being together. Sort of like out of sight, out of mind. Things, thoughts and feelings, change with distance. Erin’s starting to think Ella might have been right. Distance is hard.

That’s when the tears come and don’t want to stop. Erin wipes away each tear as it falls from beneath her sunglasses but they just won’t stop. She even apologizes to her seat mate in true Canadian fashion. Eventually, Erin just ducks her head and forgets about wiping away the tears. Erin’s heart hasn’t hurt this much in a long time. The uncertainty of it all is eating away at her. Erin puts her headphones on and closes her eyes. She focuses in on her breathing and tries to relax so she doesn’t alarm anyone around herself. That’s the last thing she needs. To draw more attention to herself. She focuses and calms herself down and eventually falls asleep.

* * *

 

Erin wakes up about halfway through her flight with a renewed sense of everything that’s going on around her. She sees the events of the last day or so in a different light. In a different perspective. The further she gets from Chicago and the closer she gets to Vancouver the more things she tend to agree with Ella on and how she made the right decision.

As soon as Erin land she gets her phone out and sends a text. **Just landed.** Erin stops at an empty gate with nobody around and lets Max out of his carrier. He stretches and walks around happily. “We’re home, buddy.” Erin tells him. He looks up at Erin with confusion. He knows the word home but doesn’t get it because he knows they are in the airport not at any home that he’s ever known.

They walk through the airport to baggage claim. Erin texts Emily to see where she’s at and gets a reply that she’s in the cell phone parking pick up area and will drive around to the front door of airport. Now that Erin has that sorted out she goes to the contact list and hits the call button under the name she wants as she waits for her bag.

“Hey, I got your text.”

Erin disregards that comment. “You were right. Thank you. For knowing what was best. For knowing what to do. For making the right decision.” She says rapidly.

“Erin.” Ella whines into the phone.

“No. I’m serious. I clearly wasn’t thinking. I wanted one thing and I didn’t think about the possible scenarios or consequences. I don’t want to call them that. But, yes, consequences. You were right, distance is hard.” Erin confirms.

“Oh.” Ella says for lack of anything better to say. “So, how was your flight?” She changes the subject.

“I slept through the first half of it.” Erin leaves out the crying part. Ella doesn’t need to know that. “And when I woke up it gave me time to think. Time without any distractions or anything. It was good.”

“How’s Maxwell?” Ella asks just as the bags start coming down the carousel.

Erin looks for her bag and spots it within the first few. “He’s good. A good boy for the whole flight. I didn’t hear a peep from him. Such a champ.” Erin praises her pup.

Ella smiles into the phone. “That’s good.” She’s happy that everything with the flight went well.

Erin grabs her bag and starts walking out of the airport. Max leads the way; Erin’s bag takes up the rear. Erin steps outside and spots Emily’s car right away.

“And how are you?” Ella asks the most important question.

Erin smiles. “I already told you. My flight was good.”

“That’s not the question.” Ella sing-songs.

Erin huffs out a breath as she starts towards Emily’s car. “I’m okay.”

“Just okay?” Ella asks.

“Yeah, it’s been a rough day.” Erin admits. She misses Ella so much already.

There’s a moment of silence. “I feel ya.” Ella says after a little bit. “I miss you.” She says exactly what Erin was thinking.

Erin smiles. “I miss you, too. I gotta go though. Emily’s here to pick me up.”

“Oh, tell her I said hi.” Ella grins. She can just imagine Erin getting a ride from Emily.

“I will.” Erin promises. “I gotta go.” She says again as she reaches the car. “I’ll text you later once I get home and settled in.”

“Okay. Bye.” Ella says and hangs up.

Erin is still holding her phone to her ear when the call disconnects. She pockets her phone quickly and opens the back car door and puts her suitcase inside. She opens the front door and gets in.

“Who were you talking to?” Emily asks as soon as Erin sits down.

“Hello, to you to.” Erin chuckles. She helps Max get in and then shuts the door.

“Hello, Erin. Now answer my question. Why were you smiling into your phone and who were you talking to?” Emily grills Erin.

“That’s two questions.”

Emily shrugs. “Just answer them.”

Erin smirks. “Ella.”

Emily cocks her head to the side and looks at Erin curiously. “Masar?” Emily asks.

“How many Ella’s do you know?” Erin says offhandedly as she looks down at the phone.

“Just one but-“ Emily is so confused as to why Erin would be talking to Ella after she just landed.

“Just drive, Zurrer.” Erin points out the window.

Emily nods dumbly and shifts the car into drive.

Erin looks around as they pull out of the airport area. It’s a good feeling to see Vancouver again. “Oh, by the way, Ella says hi.” Erin says towards the passenger’s side window.

Emily’s mouth hangs open. She doesn’t understand. Why was Erin talking to Ella? She knows they were teammates but that doesn’t explain it. And how did Ella know that she was here, the one picking Erin up? The why’s and the how’s and the what’s buzz around in Emily’s head as she drives towards Erin’s home. She tries to make sense of it all. But doesn’t have enough information. She’d ask Erin but she knows she wouldn’t get what she wanted out of the girl. Emily does know who she can get the information from. She decides that she’ll have to make a phone call to her old college teammate after she drops Erin off.


	22. Chapter 22

Emily picks up her phone and scrolls through her contacts until she finds Ella’s name. She hits call and the call goes to the car audio system. She sets the phone down and starts driving as the phone rings. Emily counts four rings before it stops. There’s a silent pause.

“Hey, it’s one of my favorite Canadians.” Greets cheerily.

“One of?” Emily challenges. “Name the others.”

“What?” Ella doesn’t understand. “What are you talking about?” It was just a saying that Ella was using.

“Name your favorite Canadians.” Emily says.

“I don’t think- I don’t want to pick favorites. Or rank my friends. Or something like that. Em, what are you getting at?” Ella asks. She folds a shirt and puts it in a box, then picks up another.

Emily huffs out an annoyed breath. This is going to be harder than she thought. Emily is going to have to be creative about how she wants to get info from Ella. “Hmm, well fine. You’re no fun.”

“Hey, I’m fun.” Ella doesn’t like to be called things or accused of being things she’s not. And being no fun is one of those things. It’s not the first time someone has told her she was no fun. She doesn’t take kindly to that.

“Okay, calm down.”

“I am calm.” Ella stops folding her clothes and sits down on the bed. The messy bed. The bed that didn’t get made that morning. The bed that was forgotten after the date was revealed and the airport was calling. Ella lays down, her phone to her left ear, on the right side of the bed. She takes in a deep breath and can still smell her. If Ella wasn’t calm before, she is now. “What’s up, Em?” Ella starts over.

“I just wanted to call you and check in.” Emily lies.

“And what makes today that day?” Ella asks. She has a sneaking suspicion that she knows why Emily is calling. It has something to do with Erin. Ella feels it has something to do with Emily picking Erin up at the airport.

Emily shrugs. “Don’t know.”

“Is that so?” Ella says skeptically. Two can play at this game. “It wouldn’t have to do anything with you picking up a certain goalkeeper from the airport not too long ago, would it?”

“Not at all.” Emily chuckles. “So, at least answer me this. Why is one Miss Erin McLeod on the phone as she is exiting the airport with one of my college teammates?” Emily asks

“Just checking in.” Ella shrugs, using Emily’s own words from seconds ago.

“You couldn’t text?” Emily asks.

“Hey, don’t look at me. Erin’s the one who called.” Ella tries to play it cool.

“Hmm.” Emily rubs at her chin with her left hand. “And why is that?”

“I don’t know.” Ella’s voice raises a little in volume. “You’d have to ask Erin.”

“Is she one of your favorite Canadians?” Emily asks.

“Well, there’s you, and Carm, and Erin. So, yeah, I guess.” Ella doesn’t know why Emily is going on and on about this. “Why are you asking?”

“I’m just curious. That’s all. Here I am picking up my friend from the airport and here she is talking on the phone before she can even get out of the building. To me that seems a bit, what’s the word, I don’t know. But to see the happy smile on her face made me wonder who she was talking to. Come to find out- it was you.” Emily says. “That got me to thinking and wondering. Thinking and wondering what it’s about.”

“You’re crazy.” Ella tries to throw Emily off.

“What is it about, Ella?” Emily directly asks Ella.

“We’re just friends.” Ella sighs. Her sigh gives her away though.

Emily smiles. “Ella Masar.”

“Emily Zurrer.” Ella replies.

“Don’t give me that.” Emily chuckles. “I can’t believe you. You’re gonna deny this aren’t you.”

“I’m not denying anything.” Ella complains. She’s so over this conversation.

“Not yet. But, I’m going to ask you and you’re going to deny it. I know you are.” Emily says. “Ella, are you and Erin a thing.”

“A thing? I don’t know what that means- but no.”

“See. Denied it.” Emily says harshly.

“I don’t know what to tell you. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not happening or true or whatever.” Ella says sadly.

Emily hears the change in Ella’s voice. “But?”

“But what?”

“But you want something to happen. You want there to be a thing.” Emily challenges. Ella doesn’t reply. She just exhales a large breath. And that tells Emily everything she needs to know. “Wow.” Emily is amazed.

“If I tell you this, you have to promise to not tell anyone else. This is not something that I want the whole world knowing.”

“Okay.” Emily says seriously.

“Yes, Erin and I have had something going on but- it’s over now. She’s gonna do her thing in Vancouver this offseason and I’m going to figure out what the hell it is that I want. Then when the next season starts we will reevaluate the situation. She is my friend. But right now, nothing more.”

“Holy shit.” Emily mumbles.

Ella chuckles. “Yeah.”

“Ella, I’m both happy and sad right now. How are you dealing with all this?” Emily can’t even imagine. She had no idea. She just saw Erin and Erin seemed good and was smiling. She’s been talking to Ella and she seems alright too. She would never have known everything that’s going on between them if she didn’t just ask Ella.

“It’s hard. It’s only been a few hours so I don’t think it’s really set in yet. But, right now I’m laying on the bed and it smells like Erin so that helps.” Ella admits.

“Oh my god, that’s so cute.” Emily grins. “Ella, if you need anything let me know. If you need me to do anything, let me know. If you need me to do something involving Erin, let me know. I’m here.”

“Thanks, bud.” Ella can’t believe she has such good friends.

“Anytime.” Emily pulls into her driveway. “So what’s it like?”

“What’s what like?” There Ella is, all confused again.

“Dating a Canadian.” Emily smirks.

Ella laughs. “I’m gonna plead the fifth right now. We’re not doing this. You aren’t gonna get any inside information. I’ve already revealed too much. As far as I’m concerned. This is it. No more. You’re being cut off.”

“What? No.” Emily whines.

“I’m hanging up now. Have a good day.” With that Ella ends the call.

Emily sits in the car with a frown on her face. She was hoping to get more details out of Ella but she thinks of her friends and smiles.

* * *

 

Two weeks after the season ends Ella finds herself laying on her sister’s couch. Her nieces are down for a nap and she’s just woken up from a little one of her own. It was a good nap. Ella stretches and gets up and goes into the kitchen.

“Oh, you’re home.” Ella says when she spots her sister in the kitchen. “Whatcha doing?” Ella goes over to her and puts a hand on Seredy’s lower back.

“Starting dinner.” Her sister says and smiles over at Ella.

Ella looks at the clock. It’s only a little after three. She thinks it’s a little early but doesn’t question it. “Okay, I think I’m gonna go to the gym.” Ella says nonchalantly.

“The gym?” Seredy questions.

“Yeah, yeah. I know. I haven’t gone to the gym since the end of the season. I don’t want to hear about it. I told you I wasn’t sure about playing anymore but-“ Ella cuts off her own sentences. Ella feels like she needs to be in the gym again.

“That itch is back, isn’t it?” Seredy asks with a knowing smirk.

Ella shakes her head and walks away from her sister. “Maybe.” She mumbles as she walks out of the room.

Seredy laughs as her sister goes.

Ella’s back in the gym and it feels so good. She knows she’s going to be sore tomorrow but it’s so worth it. She works out hard and doesn’t hold back at all. After the gym, Ella heads over to a local park with her ball and does some drills. It feels good to have a ball at her feet again. It feels good to be playing again. Even if it is by herself in a park. Ella, in this moment, doesn’t think her love for the game will ever fade. It’s the other things that come along with playing the game that wear her down.

Ella gets an idea though. She thinks it a mighty fine one. And she thinks if she can set it up she might be able to accomplish a few things in the next couple of months. Ella settles on calling her agent in the morning and having a talk with him.

When Ella finally walks back to her sister’s house it’s with her soccer ball at her feet, her gym bag on her shoulder, and a happy smile on her face.

“Auntie Ella.” The girls yell when she walks in the door.

“You missed dinner.” Seredy greets her with.

“Sorry.” Ella hugs the girls and moves past them to her sister. “I got caught up.” Ella smiles.

Seredy folds her arms over her chest and leans against the archway between the kitchen and living room.

Ella nods. “I can get my own dinner.” Ella passes her sister and goes into the kitchen. She drops her bag on the floor. Already having given the soccer ball to her nieces to play with.

Ella’s sister spins around to face Ella and the kitchen and leans against the archway with her opposite shoulder. Ella starts rummaging through the fridge to find something to eat.

“What kept you from dinner?” Seredy asks.

“I said I got caught up. Lost track of time.” Ella says, not taking her head from the fridge.

“Okay. But I should probably let you know that you left your phone here when you left.” Seredy starts with. Ella knows she left her phone. She didn’t need it. “And the girls got a hold of it.” Ella wrinkles up her face. “And a certain someone called.” Ella jerks and hits her head on the freezer door. “And they answered the phone.”

Ella stands up straight and shuts the fridge door. She looks over at her sister as she rubs the bump that is forming on the top of her head. Seredy has Ella’s phone in her hand and she wiggles it back and forth. “Oh.” Ella mumbles. “Sorry.” Ella apologizes.

Seredy smiles and walks over to her sister. She hands Ella the phone. “It’s fine. I came out of the kitchen and into the living room and they were sitting there. The phone held between the two of them as they listened to whatever Erin was saying. They had big smiles on their faces. It was really cute actually.”

Ella has a big smile on her face now. “Okay.” Ella slips past her sister.

“Where are you going? Aren’t you going to eat?” Seredy spins around to talk to her sister but Ella is already halfway up the stairs.

“I’ll eat later.” Ella calls out.

Seredy laughs. She loves seeing her sister like this. Happy and content with whatever happens in her life at the moment. Ella explained to her what she and Erin decided at the end of the season. Seredy thought it was very adult, very mature of Ella. She’s seen the growth in her sister in leaps and bounds over the last couple of weeks and knows that must have been occurring over the last several months. It seems like Ella has a certain lightness about her. Like her steps are lighter, her mind is clearer, like there are no burdens or problems or issues. She doesn’t know if she’s ever seen Ella like that. So free.

Ella falls backwards onto the bed and hits the call button on her phone at the same time.

“Hey.” Erin answers the phone. They’ve talked a few times in the last couple of weeks. Mostly just checking in and catching up on what the other is doing.

“I heard you talked to my nieces today.” Ella smiles into the phone.

Erin grins. “I did. They were a little shy but when I started talking about you we found a common ground, a common language. They really love you, Ella.”

“I know. I’m lucky. And I love them so much. They are great kids.” Ella tells Erin. “But I hope you only said good things about me.”

“Ella they’re little. Plus, I wasn’t going to say something bad about their aunt cuz there’s nothing bad about her.” Erin says softly.

“Erin.” Ella whines.

“Well, I’m just speaking the truth.” Erin shrugs.

“Erin.” Ella whines again. Erin’s not being fair right now.

“Alright. Alright. Not that I didn’t enjoy talking with your nieces but where were you?” Erin asks.

“I was out.” Ella says vaguely. “And I left my phone here.”

“Your sister told me that much.” Erin says.

“You talked to her too.” Ella squawks. She’s not upset about it. But she’s a little jealous that everybody else got to talk to Erin today before she did.

“I mean, I asked the girls if I could talk to you and they didn’t know where you were. So I asked if their mom was around and if I could talk to her. They put her on the phone. And so I talked to her for a little bit. She wouldn’t tell me where you were though. Did you tell her where you were going?” Erin asks trying to get the details of where Ella was out of her inadvertently.

“I told her I was going to the gym.”

It works. “So you were at the gym. I thought you swore of the gym.”

“I never said that.” Ella protests. “I would never swear off the gym. I would lose all my nice muscles.”

Erin gasps dramatically. “We don’t want that.”

Ella laughs. “No. We don’t want that.” She repeats.

“That would be devastating.” Erin says sassily.

“Devastating.” Ella repeats.

Erin chuckles. “Okay. But seriously. You were at the gym. How’d that go?”

Ella smiles. She loves that Erin wants to know about her day even all the mundane, boring things that she does. “It was good. Went well but I think I’m gonna be sore tomorrow. But, ya know, in a good way.”

“I know.” Erin nods.

“And are you all ready for Hawaii?” Ella asks. She knows Erin’s been prepping for Hawaii the last couple of days. She knows Erin is excited to go.

“I’m nearly ready to go. I can’t wait.” Erin says excitedly.

“You’re gonna have such a great time. I’m so jealous.” Ella tells her.

“Canadians only. Don’t you think about crashing our party.” Erin teases.

Ella sighs. “I won’t.” There’s no way she could get to Hawaii. “Don’t worry.”

“Good. No Americans aloud.” Erin says smugly.

“You do know that Hawaii is in America, right?” Ella reminds Erin.

“Psst, you know what I mean.” Erin says goofily.

“Yeah.” Ella mumbles.

Erin hears the disappointment in Ella’s voice. “Hey, don’t get down about it.”

“I’m not.” Ella really isn’t. She knows she can’t go to Hawaii. She can’t afford it. She has her sister’s wedding coming up and has to be around for that and she has to talk to her agent in the morning. “It’s fine. It was good talking to you, Erin. I like hearing your voice. But I didn’t have anything to eat yet so I should go do that.”

“Alright.” Erin is a little bummed that Ella has to go so soon. “Go eat. Fuel that body to keep those muscles big and strong.” Erin jokes.

Ella chuckles. “I will. Bye, Erin.”

“Bye.” Erin sighs and hangs up the phone.

Ella rubs her hands over her face after she gets off the phone with Erin. While it’s good to hear Erin’s voice and talk to her it’s also hard. It’s harder than Ella thought it would be. It’s hard cuz she misses Erin being around. Eventually, Ella gets up and goes to eat.

* * *

 

Ella gets a call back from her agent two days after she originally talked to him. He has two offers for her. Two offers from teams in Europe to play for them for the remainder of their season. Ella makes the decision right there to take one of them. It’s going to be another change for her. Another change for the offseason but Ella feels like it’s something she has to do if she really wants to figure out if she wants to play next season or not. Ella knows that she needs to do this. It will give her a chance to figure things out and to earn a little extra money.

Ella gets off the phone with her agent and makes another call right away. Erin picks up the phone right away. “Morning.” Erin says lightly.

Ella looks at the clock. “It’s not morning here.” Ella counters.

“Okay. Good afternoon, Ms. Masar.” Erin changes it to.

Ella smiles. “Good afternoon, Ms. McLeod.”

“Mmm.” Erin hums.

“I have some news.” Ella says first and foremost.

“And what would that be?”

Ella takes a deep breath. “I’m going to Europe.”

“For what?” Erin follows up with.

“To play.” Ella sighs.

Erin a bit shocked but makes an ahh noise. “That didn’t last long.”

Ella rolls her eyes. “Don’t be a jerk. But, no. I want to go and see if I still want to play. In a different environment. Somewhere where there aren’t any other distractions. No friends. No family. I can just focus on playing and playing to the best of my ability. I think it’s what I need right now.”

“I’m sure you’ll do great.” Erin encourages.

“Thanks. I wanted to let you know right away. I’m not leaving until after my sister’s wedding so I have a few weeks yet but I wanted to let you know that I’m going.” Ella says with a somber tone. It’s not that she’s sad about this opportunity. The opposite but she’ll be away from her family for five weeks. And she’ll be further away from Erin. “And- and this is my way to make a little extra money.” Ella adds a little more happily.

“Ohhh.” Erin draws out. She knows what Ella means with that one. They both know what that money is going to be used for.

“I’m going to be playing in Copenhagen for five weeks and then I’m going to come back and I’ll have the money I need to book a flight.” Ella continues on about her idea. Going to play in Denmark serves two purposes really. Both very important. And that’s what’s driving her to go. To be away from her family. To be over in Europe. There’s a method to her madness. Plus, it’s a new experience and Ella believes you can never have enough of those.

“Exciting.” Erin claps her hands together. “I’m happy for you, Ella. I hope that you have a great time overseas.” Erin says enthusiastically.

“I hope so too.” Ella grins. She’s really looking forward to it.

“We’ll have to Facetime when you’re there and you can tell me what Copenhagen is like.” Erin tells her.

“We will.” Ella promises.

“Okay.” Erin looks around the room trying to think of something they should talk about next. She doesn’t think of anything else before Ella is saying something else.

“Can I call you tonight? I want to go get a training session in.” Ella asks.

“Sure.” Erin agrees.

“Okay. Bye.” Ella says and hangs up the phone.

Erin listens until the line goes died. She puts her phone down with a long sigh. She is hopefully optimistic. Erin hopes that Ella is serious about this and that she’s not just messing with her. That she’s not just making empty promises. That she won’t change her mind. Now that the thought of Ella coming to Vancouver is planted in Erin’s mind she thinks she would be devastated if it didn’t happen for whatever reason.

Ella is going to be even further away now and Erin thinks that maybe just adding that distance will change her mind and she’ll decided that she doesn’t need to or doesn’t want to go to Vancouver. Erin knows that she has to let Ella do this. That Ella needs this for herself. She knows that but the selfish part of Erin doesn’t want her to go. Ella could have some great experiences in Denmark and not want to return to the states to play soccer or not want to go to Vancouver anymore. The possibilities are almost endless.

Mostly, Erin feels like Ella is getting further and further away from her every day. That’s the worst part. She puts it to the back of her mind though and gets back to the painting she is working on. It’s the last one she has to finish and send off for her art show at the end of the month.

* * *

 

Ella sits in her mother’s kitchen with a cup of coffee between her hands. She is visiting her mom before she goes to Copenhagen. It’s her last day with her mom. Tomorrow it’s back to Chicago and the day after that it’s off to Europe.

Ella’s mother comes into the kitchen and finds Ella sitting there staring out the window. “What are you thinking about, El?”

“What? Nothing.” Ella brushes it off.

“Doesn’t look like nothing to me.” Shelley goes over and taps at Ella’s head. “What’s going on in that brain of yours?” She whispers to Ella’s head.

Ella sighs.

“Are you thinking about your trip?”

“No.” Ella shakes her head.

“Are you thinking about-“ Shelley puts her index finger to her chin and thinks. “-about your nieces, your family?”

“Uh, no.” Ella grimaces.

“Are you thinking about playing again?” Her mom asks.

“No, mom.” Ella takes a sip of her coffee. She doesn’t want to talk about it.

“Then what is it? You were clearly thinking about something when I came in. I saw the wheels turning. It was very clear to see. I know you Ella. You can’t fool me.” Shelley smiles suddenly with a thought. “Oh, I know. I know what you were thinking about now.” She sits down in the chair across from Ella and reaches for her left hand, pulling it away from the coffee cup.

“You don’t know what I’m thinking, mom. What are you doing?” Ella tries to take her hand back from her mom but it’s a very weak attempt.

“Would you like my advice?” Shelley asks.

“No.” Ella says stubbornly.

“Ella.” Her mother scolds. Ella presses her lips tightly together and listens to whatever her mother is about to say. “I think you were thinking about your special lady friend.”

“Oh god.” Ella moans and bows her head. “Mom, stop.”

“No. No. Listen. I think it’s great. And I know you guys like broke up or whatever.” Ella gives her mother an exasperated look. She didn’t tell her that. “Your sister told me. Anyway, I think it’s great that you still keep in touch and are friends still. It’s important to have good people in your life. No matter what the nature of the relationship.”

Ella’s already over this little talk. She would get up and leave but that would be rude. “Where’s the advice?”

Shelley cocks her head to the side. “Oh. I don’t know if I have any. I just wanted to say that I know what you’re thinking about. Or who.” She grins. “It’s okay, dear.”

Ella sighs. “I was really just thinking that I wish I could talk to Erin before I leave for Europe but she’s on vacation with her friends and I don’t want to disturb her. And I don’t know if her phone works or if it’s even on.”

“Where?” Shelley asks.

Ella narrows her eyes at her mother. “Where what?”

“Where is she on vacation?” Her mom asks.

“Hawaii.” Ella says simply.

Shelley laughs heartily.

“What?” Ella asks, annoyed.

Ella’s mom looks at her point blank. “You made it sound like she was in some far off land. Grow a pair and just call her.”

“Mom.” Ella groans.

Shelley releases her hold on Ella’s hand and stands up. “If she answers, there you go. If not, no harm no foul.” Her mom disappears somewhere into the house without another word.

Ella sits at the table and finishes her coffee. It was really just an excuse not to talk to Erin before she goes. The fact that Erin is in Hawaii. The truth is that Ella doesn’t want to call her before she goes knowing that it will be their last conversation on the same continent. She mostly just doesn’t want to have to say goodbye to Erin again. She wonders how many goodbyes two people can have before they meet again.

* * *

 

Ella goes to Copenhagen at the end of September to begin her five weeks there. She’s going to miss a lot of things back home but she’s looking forward to spending some time in a new city by herself. It gives Ella an opportunity to work on herself and find herself. She’s going to work on figuring out what she wants and not just related to soccer. Erin asked her what she wanted and Ella didn’t have an answer. She’s determined to figure out what she really wants and to put in order the most important things in her life.

Yes, she’ll miss her family and Erin but there will be lot of Skype and Facetime happening. Ella hopes to find real perspective on everything that’s currently going on in her life with this distance from her family and friends. Her main purpose is to help out the team for a few weeks. But, Ella hopes to find out a lot about herself while she’s away.


	23. Chapter 23

Ella lays on her bed in Copenhagen with her phone in her hand. She’s waiting for the call to connect. It’s not a regular call, it’s a Facetime call. The screen changes and Erin appears. “Hey.” Ella smiles wide.

“Hi.” Erin grins back.

There’s a moment of silence as they just look at each other through the screen for a moment. “How’s your day going?” Ella asks, starting up a conversation.

“It’s been- wait-“ Erin brings the phone close to her face, like an inch away. “-Is that my shirt?”

Ella grins guiltily. “Maybe.”

“How? When? You sneaky devil.” Erin smiles. She absolutely loves it.

Ella shrugs. A smug smirk firmly in place on her lips. “Before you left.”

“Obviously.” Erin leans back in her chair, and relaxes fully.

It’s barely midday in Vancouver, but for Ella it’s evening time and she’s getting ready for bed. Erin wonders if Ella plans on wearing that shirt to bed. “So how is your day going?” Ella asks again.

“Good. I went for a run early this morning.” Erin makes a disgruntled face. “Yuck.” She rolls her eyes too. “Then I went to the gym and did weights. So, so far so good.” Erin bobs her head back and forth.

“Oh, sounds so terrible.” Ella mocks.

“Shut up. You’re a gym rat.” Erin throws back.

“I am not. And you are in the gym almost as much as I am.” Ella counters.

“Fine. Whatever.” Erin gives up on that. “How was your day?”

“Not bad.” Ella sighs. “We had practice in the morning and then the rest of the day off. I got a chance to explore the city a little bit with my roommate. We got lost but it was fun.” Ella grins. She really had a good time exploring.

“Of course you did.” Erin smiles as she imagines Ella getting lost in an unknown city and asking someone who doesn’t speak English for directions and it ending up with her only getting more lost.

“No, but this city is so cool. You should see how cool it is. You need to visit Copenhagen one day. You have to see it. You would absolutely love it. I know you would. There’s all these tiny little shops that sells just about anything imaginable.” Ella talks with so much enthusiasm.

Erin stops Ella before she gets too far ahead of herself. “Ella, I can’t come to Copenhagen.” She sighs.

“No. No. No. Not like now.” Ella backtracks. She didn’t mean for Erin to come to Copenhagen now. “Just like- in general. You should come here. Like on vacation or something. Not now though. In the future sometime. I know you don’t have the time right now. It’s just something that I meant like as a suggestion. I didn’t mean- you know what I mean.” Ella finally finishes with her rambles.

Erin chuckles. She still thinks it’s absolutely cute when Ella gets all flustered. “I’ll put it on my bucket list.” She tells Ella. “One day I will visit Copenhagen. You’ll have find out where the best places to eat are and make me a list so I know where to go when I visit.”

“Done.” Ella nods. “What’s in store for the rest of the day?” Ella wants to know what Erin is doing. It gives her a sense of closeness. Even if she is so far away.

“I was going to do some painting. Maybe, after that, go on a hike with Max. It’s a beautiful day.”

“That’s good. How’s Mr. Maxwell?” Ella misses Max almost as much as she misses Erin.

“Maxwell. Come here.” Erin calls. Max runs over and jumps up on Erin’s lap. Erin puts the phone in front of Max’s face. “Look who it is, buddy.”

“Hi, Max.” Ella says and waves.

“It’s Ella. You remember her, right?” Erin asks. Max looks between the phone and Erin. Erin laughs. “He doesn’t know what to think.”

“I miss you, Max.” Ella says. “Hopefully, I’ll see you soon.”

Max doesn’t really comprehend. He looks to Erin and then jumps off of her lap.

“He’s gone.” Erin says and turns the phone back to herself.

“You too.” Ella says.

“Me too, what?” Erin asks with a funny face.

Ella bites her lip. “I miss you too.”

“Ella.” Erin sighs. Ella isn’t being fair.

“And I hope to see you soon.” Ella continues.

“You’re in Denmark.” Erin reminds her.

“I know. But, ya know- when I get back.” Ella shrugs. She has some ideas about things she wants to do when she’s done playing in Denmark.

“O-kay.” Erin drones. She’s still not sure if she can believe that Ella is going to come to Vancouver after her stint in Copenhagen. There aren’t any plans as of now. All Ella has planned is saying that she’s going to go to Vancouver and that’s not much of a plan so Erin’s not 100 percent convinced.

Ella yawns. “You should go to sleep.” Erin suggests. She knows it’s getting late there.

“I don’t want to. I want to talk to you.” Ella says with another yawn.

“Ella, come on. Don’t be silly.” Erin makes a face. “What do you have tomorrow?”

“A double.” Ella says.

“Then you better go to bed.” Erin says with a serious look. “We can talk again soon.” Erin promises. They don’t talk or Facetime every day. Maybe two of three times a week though.

“Alright.” Ella sighs disappointed. She gives in. If it were up to her she would talk to Erin all night long. But she knows that she can’t. She has to sleep and Erin has things to do. It’s midday in Vancouver, after all.

* * *

 

Ella has had a long, tiring day. She lays down in bed at the end of the day. She closes her eyes and says her prayers and waits for sleep to take her away from the day.

But she waits and waits. Ella picks her phone up off the nightstand to check the time. It’s been over thirty minutes since she first laid down. She huffs out a frustrated breath. She should be able to sleep after a busy day full of soccer and personal activities. She’s not only physically tired but mentally tired as well.

Ella pulls open her photo library on her phone and starts scrolling through the photos. They range from everything from her nieces, to photos of herself playing soccer, to selfies, to a few picture of her and Erin together. It’s that last group of photos that Ella pauses on. She just talked to Erin the day before and she doesn’t want to be too much of a pest but she can’t help it. Ella opens her contacts and goes to Erin’s name and hits the Facetime icon.

She’s missing home so much. It’s been a few weeks in Copenhagen and they’ve been great. But Ella misses her nieces and her sister. Her mom. Her whole family. She’s been missing something else too.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping.” Erin answers with. She’s had it figured out what time it is in Copenhagen compared to Vancouver in the first week that Ella was there. In Erin’s mind, she has two different time zone clocks running in her mind at the same time, all the time.

Ella bites her lip. She’s just happy that Erin wasn’t busy and that she picked up. “I can’t sleep.” She admits.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Erin frowns. “Anything I can do?”

Ella thinks about it for a minute. She’s not sure but she loves Erin’s voice and loves listening to her talk. It doesn’t matter what it is Erin is talking about but Ella loves the smooth, soft tones of Erin’s voice. “Tell me a story.” Ella requests.

Erin nods. “Ahh. Like what?”

“I don’t care. Just talk about something, anything.” Ella says with exasperation. She’ll do just about anything to try to get to sleep.

Erin laughs. “Okay. So today Max and I went for a morning walk. It was a nice morning. We walked through this little park by where I live. It’s a cool little area with trees and little trails everywhere. There’s water on the one side. Anyway, Max and I were walking along and everything was going well until he wasn’t paying attention. He was sniffing around at something on the ground and walked right into a log.”

Ella laughs. “Oh, poor guy. Is he alright?”

Erin grins. “Yup. He stopped, looked back at me, shook it off, and kept going.”

Ella enjoys the story but it makes her miss Max. Which makes her miss Erin. Which makes the tears start in the corners of her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Erin sees the shift in Ella’s mood and behavior. No more smile. No more happy eyes. Instead, Erin sees a frown and she even thinks she sees tears in Ella’s eyes.

Ella shakes her head, willing her tears from falling. It doesn’t work though. With the back and forth movement the tears fall from Ella’s eyes.

“Hey, why are you crying?” Erin starts to get worried. “Ella, don’t cry. Please, I don’t like it when you cry. It makes me want to cry. Ella, what’s wrong? Talk to me.” Erin nearly begs. She doesn’t like this. She hates been on the other side of the world from Ella and not being able to do anything from so far away. Erin knows that Ella doesn’t like to talk about what she’s feeling and putting herself out there but she wishes she would.

Ella lays there. She rubs the tears from her eyes as the fall. She tries to get them to stop but they just woke quit. She doesn’t know what’s wrong with her and why she’s so emotional right now. It might be that Ella is overtired. It might be that she is just homesick and that home isn’t just the places and people back in Illinois.

Erin doesn’t get anything from Ella in response but shakes of the head and more tears. She’s not satisfied with that. Erin tries to think of something that will put a smile back on Ella’s face. She knows something that will work. It’s a little different and it’s a little vulnerable but she’ll do just about anything to make Ella feels better.

Erin starts singing. Quietly, at first.

So quietly that Ella almost doesn’t hear it at first. But she does hear the quiet words that Erin is singing. Ella stops wiping at her tears and stares straight into the camera on the phone in awe.

Erin has her eyes closed as she sings. It’s a song that Ella knows. It’s a song that they both know well. A song that brings back memories. A song that has meaning for both of them. Ella thinks about the day that she and Carm had Erin as their guest on The Ella and Carm Show. She remembers playing the keyboard and being totally awestruck then. She’s not quite as awestruck right now but still Ella is in awe every time Erin sings.

Erin signs the whole song and then opens her eyes when she is finished.

Ella’s tears have stopped. “That was amazing. You are the greatest.”

“You’re just saying that.” Erin waves Ella’s comments off. Not that she doesn’t like them or doesn’t want them but more that she doesn’t want to bring a lot of attention to herself.

“I’m saying because it’s true. Erin, you’re the best. I- I-“ Ella stutters. She wants to say something. Three little words but she knows she shouldn’t. She can’t. “Thank you.” Ella says instead.

Erin grins. “You’re very welcome. Anything for a pretty girl like you.” Erin says smoothly. Ella would roll her eyes at Erin’s cheesy line but she’s too caught up in Erin to do anything but grin like a lovesick fool. “Do you think you can sleep now?” Erin asks.

Ella nods. “Yeah.” Ella bites her bottom lip. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.” Erin says. “Goodnight, beautiful.”

Ella smile booms. Erin thinks she can see each and every one of Ella’s teeth, her smile is that big. “Goodnight, Erin.”

Erin doesn’t bother to correct Ella that it’s only early afternoon where she is. She lets Ella be the one to end the call. Erin waits, a soft smile on her face, for Ella to end the Facetime call. Finally, after a few seconds Ella’s face disappear from her phone screen.

Erin sighs and sets her phone down. She worries about Ella and if she’s taking care of herself. It’s a little alarming to get a call and have the person you care deeply about dissolve into tears. Erin doesn’t know the reason. She thinks she might not ever know. She doubts Ella will come out and tell her. But all she can hope for is that Ella knows she’s there and that has helped. Even if it’s only a little bit.

* * *

 

Ella spends all of October in Denmark. She plays soccer and feels good about how she’s playing and how it feels good to be on the pitch again. Ella feels like she can continue on. That she can play on. The future is starting to look bright again. Ella has a picture of what she wants to happen in the coming months. She wants to get in on a good training program when she gets back to the US. She wants to spend some quality time with her family. And she wants to make a trip to Vancouver as soon as she can after she gets home.

She’s been doing some soul searching in her weeks in Denmark. Ella really didn’t know if she could bridge the gap between her religion, her faith, and the person she loves. For a long time, those two things seemed to clash against each other. They didn’t seem to fit together. But now, after much searching, much thinking, and much prayer Ella has concluded that the two can exist together. The two go hand in hand actually. The basis of Ella’s faith is love. And love is what everything is supposed to be about. To live is to love. To love is to live. Ella knows it’s not always going to be easy but she is certain that her faith and her love can co-exist. It will take work and it won’t always be easy. But, Ella thinks it’s possible to have both. It’s more than possible. Anything is possible with love.

* * *

 

Erin pulls up outside the restaurant where they were designated to meet for lunch. She spots her dorky friends as she is getting out of her vehicle. Erin shakes her head. Carm is posed there, facing the opposite direction, with her nose pointed up at the sky. Emily is waving vigorously in Erin’s direction to get her attention. Erin acknowledges Emily with a small wave and walks in their direction.

“You guys are such nerds.” Erin greets her friends.

“Not a nerd.” Carm exits her exaggerated pose and makes a bee-line for the restaurant door. Erin and Emily follow.

They all sit down at a table and order their lunch.

“I’d ask how you’re doing but I just saw you yesterday.” Carm comments. “Unless-“ She smirks devilishly. “-their have been any new major developments in your life.”

Erin presses her lips tight together and shakes her head.

“Have there been?” Emily asks.

“No.” Erin scrunches up her face. “Knock it off, Carm.” She knows what Carm is alluding to. Carm knows all about everything from both Erin and Ella and she’s been teasing them about it since Erin’s been back in Vancouver.

Emily knows too but not to the extent that Carm does. She only really got Ella side of the events. She knows Erin’s side isn’t that much different. Personally, she didn’t feel like it was her place to ask Erin about Ella but now that Carm’s brought it up, Emily is curious.

“Oh, come on. It’s not every day that someone dumps you and goes to Europe for five weeks. What’s that all about anyway?” Carm says with a smug smirk. She loves the drama of all of this. Even if she is blowing it up more than it should be.

“We weren’t together.” Erin says, feeling the sting again. “And I don’t know. You’re asking the wrong person.” Erin folds her arms over her chest. She doesn’t want to have to go over this again. It’s like a broken record that keeps playing over and over in her mind. Erin wonders often if there was something she could have done differently. To make Ella stay, to have things end on a happier note.

“Well, I have but- ya know how she is. Keeps things close to her heart. She’s a hard one to get things out of. I mean I don’t blame her, but it’s curious. That’s all.” Carm shrugs. “If it were me, I don’t know if I could do it.”

“Do what?” Erin asks.

“Keep carrying on like nothing’s happened. I would have had to take a break from that, from her.” Carm gives Erin props for that. For keeping in contact with Ella even though they’ve agreed not to be together. That takes guts. That takes a certain kind of person to be able to do that. One of understanding and compassion.

“Yeah, how do you do that?” Emily asks.

Erin shrugs. “I love her.” She smiles happily.

“Awww.” Emily coos.

Carm grins. “It’s that simple?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Erin would like to think that it’s that simple but knows that it’s not. The relationship she has with Ella is far more complicated than that. “She’s special.” Erin grins. “I’m not just saying that. I know a lot of people say that about others. I really mean it. And if, some day, she gives me another shot, I’m gonna do everything that I can to keep her around. To make her mine.” Erin sighs. “Not that she’s like property or whatever but ya know what I mean.” Erin ends awkwardly.

Emily nods. “I do.”

Carm nods in agreement but a smirk forms on her face. “Sooo?” She draws out.

“What?” Erin knows that smirk. Carm’s going to ask something that is probably not PG or something that is a little out of the ordinary.

“I bet you charmed the pants off of her after I left.” Carm grins devilishly. She sits back in her seat and waits for Erin’s answer.

Erin looks down at her lap but a smile comes to her face. “Literally.” She smiles smugly.

Emily and Carm bust out into laughter. Carm reaches across the table and holds her hand up for a high five. “You dog.” Carm says through her laughter.

* * *

 

Ella goes down to a little café in her neighborhood in Copenhagen with one of her roommates. She orders up a coffee and what turns out to be a very large croissant. “That thing is huge.” Her teammate exclaims. “We have to take a picture.”

“Okay.” Ella says and poses for the picture and her roommate takes the photo. “Let me see.” Ella leans forward in her seat. She needs to approve of the pic. If it’s bad, it needs to be retaken. “Ha, that’s perfect. Send it to me.” Ella requests and then picks up her croissant and takes a bite.

Ella finishes her croissant in what might be record time. “That was so good.” She hums. Ella sits back in her chair and picks up her phone. The photo sent in a text is there waiting for her. Ella saves it and then open her Twitter. She writes up a little caption, adds the photo, and hits Tweet.

Ella carries on her day as usual. It’s mid-afternoon when her phone starts ringing. She smiles when she sees that it’s Erin that’s calling.

“Hey.” Ella answers.

“Hello.”

“Or should I say good morning.” Ella grins into the phone.

“Yes.” Erin says licking her lips. “I see you had a good morning. That was a huge croissant. How did you eat that?”

Ella squints. “What do you mean? I ate it like I would eat any pastry. I picked it up with my hand and took a bite out of it.”

“Wow. I’m shocked you were able to pick it up. Sure you didn’t have help?” Erin jokes.

“Haha, funny.” Ella rolls her eyes. “Make jokes about my hands. They’re not that small.”

“Oh, come on. They so are.” Erin shoots back right away. “They’re like child sized.” Erin smirks, proud of her own jokes.

“They’re not that small, Erin. We can’t all have nice hands with long fingers like you.” Ella says.

Erin bursts into laughter.

“What?” Ella asks dumbly.

“Oh my god, do you hear yourself?” Erin says through her laughter. “Oh my god.” Erin can’t believe it.

“What? I’m just saying that you have great hands. Perfect for goalkeeping.” Ella doesn’t really see what’s wrong with that.

“Yeah, for goalkeeping and other things.” Erin smirks.

It finally hits Ella. Her cheeks tint red. “Erin.” She scolds.

“Ok, for goalkeeping and art and playing and instrument. Yes, it helps to have long, dexterous fingers. But, there are many other advantages that I can think of too. If I recall, I didn’t hear any complaints from you.”

“Oh my god. Stop.” Ella mumbles.

“Quite the opposite actually.” Erin adds.

Ella groans into the phone. “I’m gonna hang up on you.”

“No. No. No.” Erin pleads. “I’ll stop. Promise. But, girl, you make it too easy sometimes.”

“Yeah.” Ella sighs.

“So, did you do anything else exciting today, other than large pastries?” Erin asks. “Oh, and nice shirt.”

Ella smiles. “I thought you might like that.”

“Very much so.” Erin admits. She’s not sure how it happened that Ella got ahold of her shirt. Most likely that she didn’t give it back after they filmed episode 8 but it’s not like Erin went looking for it or asked for it back or anything. As far as she’s concerned, Ella can wear whatever of hers that she wants. It means something to Erin. It means that it means something to Ella too and that means something to Erin.

Ella hums into the phone. Her time in Denmark is coming to an end and Ella has a few decisions that she has to make about her future. She wants to talk to Erin about them but at the same time Erin can’t do much. Ella has to make the decision on her own.

“I’ll be going home soon.”

“Yeah.” Erin knows that.

“I have to figure out what I want to do next.” Ella mentions.

“Yeah. Any thoughts so far?”

“I know I want to continue playing.” Ella says. “But I’ll need to find somewhere to train for the remainder of the offseason. Whether that’s at home or in Chicago or somewhere else, I don’t know.” Ella tells Erin.

“Well, I can’t tell you what to do but it’s good to hear that you want to continue. I think the game needs you yet. Plus, aren’t you a little young to retire? What would you do with the rest of your life Ms. Masar?” Erin jokes.

Ella laughs. “I don’t know.”

“I’m glad to be able to play another season with you.” Erin says with a relieved sigh.

“Yeah.” Ella mumbles.

They’re both thinking similar things. Remembering last season and everything from on the pitch, to their hit show, to all the time they spent together getting to know each other. Erin is looking forward to all of that continuing. Ella just wants to see Erin again.

“I’ll let you start your day.” Ella says. She doesn’t want to let Erin go but knows she should. Erin probably has plans for the day. “I’ll call you before bed.”

“Okay.” Erin nods thinking that’s probably reasonable. “I’ll talk to you later, El.”

“Bye.” Ella says and hang up the phone. She decides now is as good of a time as any to get to work on finding offseason training. She gives her agent a call and asks him to look into it.

* * *

 

Ella sends a text a few days later. **It’s all set up.**

Erin looks at her phone after morning training and sees that she has a text from Ella from over an hour ago. **What is?**

Ella gets the message right away and knows that Erin is done with training. **My offseason training.**

**That’s good to hear. Wouldn’t want you to get sloppy :)** Erin sends back a little sass.

Ella reads the incoming text and shakes her head. **Watch it McLeod.** She sends that text and then another one. **Maybe you should get back to training. Don’t want you to fall behind.**

**Done for the day.** Erin smirks when she sends her text. She enjoys the banter that the two have. They’ve always had that sort of lighthearted joking banter going on and it feels good that it didn’t disappear when they parted ways.

Ella decides to switch from texting and pulls up the Facetime app on her phone and calls Erin.

Erin answers and Ella can tell that she’s just finished working out. Little hairs fly all over from her ponytail. Her face is flushed and she’s all sweaty. “Hello.”

“Hey.” Ella grins.

“You wanna tell me the details now?” Erin asks.

“Sure.” Ella puts her palm on her underside of her jaw and stares into the phone. “I’ve got my training in Boulder. Starting in December. Taking a break for a few weeks for the holidays and then back at it in mid January thru February.

“Wow. Ambitious.” Erin teases.

“I don’t wanna her anything from you. You have camp for four months.” Ella counters.

“Yeah, but it’s not every single day. We get weekends and holidays off.”

“Alright, fine. Fair enough.” Ella meets Erin halfway. “So how’s it going?”

“Good. So far.” Erin shrugs. “Nothing exciting to report.”

“Any new teammates?” Ella asks. She’s curious about the squad. She admittedly doesn’t know much about the Canadian team other than its major stars and the girls that she’s played with.

“Nope. And don’t ask what I think you’re going to ask. Cuz I’m not going to talk about it. We had a conversation and everything is final.” Erin gives Ella a pointed look. She’s not going to discuss Melissa with Ella. Especially, considering that they aren’t together.

Ella holds her hand up in innocents. “Okay. Sorry.”

Erin huffs out a breath. “No. Don’t apologize. It’s only human nature to be curious.” Erin looks down at her lap.

Ella changes the conversation topic. “I’m going to France in a couple of days. Then I’m going home.” Ella smiles. She’s looking forward to seeing her family again.

“Cool.” Erin is a little jealous that Ella’s family gets to see her and she doesn’t. “I bet your family misses you. Especially the girls.” Erin tries to hide her disappointment from Ella.

Ella sees the shift in Erin’s behavior. “Yeah. I miss them.” Ella nods. “You know who else I miss?”

“Your mom.” Erin shrugs.

“Yes, but someone else.” Ella smiles.

“Me.” Erin chances a guess with a sly smile.

“Erin. I know we’re not like together or whatever but I can’t get you out of my head. Your always there. You’re always with me.” Ella puts her hand over her heart. “I don’t know if I would have survived this stint in Copenhagen without you. I would have been so lost. But I’m not. I’ve really be doing some soul searching and finding myself. I feel like I’ve made strides in that area. I feel like things make sense now, again. That I can find my way no matter what is thrown at me. That’s all because of you. You started that.”

“How?” Erin is doubtful.

“In the summer. You were there. You helped me open up. I told you about all my struggles and problems. Everything that was happening on the field. Or not happening, in my case. You were there. I just needed someone to have my back. Someone to stand by me. Someone to believe in me. More so than my family or friends. It’s different with you. You are so positive and inspirational. You make me want to be better and that’s what I’ve been working on here.”

“Oh. Well, I was just being me.” Erin shrugs. It’s not like she did anything above and beyond.

“And thank you for doing that.” Ella says sincerely. “Erin, I miss you so much.” Ella sighs. She has her mind made up but she’s wanting for the timing to be right. She’s waiting until she gets back to the states.

“I miss you too, Ella.”

Ella chuckles. “We’re fucking losers.” She shakes her head.

“No.” Erin says. She refrains from telling Ella she loves her but just barely. “I gotta go. But call me tonight.” Tonight for Ella is only in a few hours but Erin doesn’t care. She’s gotta run some errands and then get home, take Max for a walk, and shower before then though.

“Okay.” Ella smiles. “Bye.” She bites her bottom lip.

Erin waves. “Bye.” She disconnects the Facetime calls and sets her phone down. Erin starts her car, that she’s been sitting in for the entirety of the call, and goes right to business.

* * *

 

Ella is in France. Her visit is brief but she makes her way to Paris. She stops in a little shop and sees postcards. She buys a few and sends them to her family. She buys one with a picture of the Seine river on it. Ella flips the postcard over and scrawls out a short message. She smiles as she writes ‘Paris. The city of LOVE. XOXO Ella’. Ella’s next tasks is to figure out postage and sending the postcards. She knows the people who receive them with enjoy them. Some maybe more than others.

* * *

 

Ella’s phone rings with a Facetime call. It’s her last night in France and she was just getting ready for bed. She smiles when she sees whose calling. She’s had many Facetime calls with her sisters and brother and mom and nieces. Just about everybody in her time overseas but Ella always gets extra giddy and excited when it’s Erin who’s calling.

“Hello.” Ella picks up with a bright smile. She’s enjoyed her time in Europe but is looking forward to going home and starting the next chapter in her life. She feels renewed and ready to take on whatever is thrown her way.

“Hi.” Erin says with a shy smile. They didn’t plan to talk to each other tonight but Erin couldn’t resist. She knows that Ella has a flight the next day and wants to talk to her, Facetime with her before that.

“What do I owe this pleasure?” Ella asks. She wasn’t expecting to talk to Erin tonight.

Erin reaches for something off the screen and Ella watches curiously. “I got this in the mail today.” Erin flashes the postcard that Ella sent her in front of the phone. “Does it look familiar?”

Ella nods. “I may have seen that before.” She plays coy.

“Thank you, Ella. I’m gonna put it on the fridge.” Erin grins. She sets the postcard down and picks up Max. “Maxwell, say hi.” Max looks curiously at the phone for a moment.

“Hi, Maxwell.” Ella says in a chipper voice.

Max recognizes Ella’s voice right away and tries to get closer to the phone, trying to figure it out. Ella waves at him and he looks backwards at Erin. “Yeah, that’s your buddy, Ella.”

“Max.” Ella tries to get his attention but he isn’t really interested anymore. He squirms and Erin puts him down.

“Maybe another time. We’ll work on it.” Erin says.

“Sure.” Ella is just happy to see Max. “He’s so cute though.” Ella sighs.

“He’s the most handsome man ever and I don’t say that about very many men.” Erin smirks.

Ella laughs. “Erin.” She sighs. What comes out of her mouth next is just a simple slip but it feels more natural than anything. “I love you.”

Erin is not sure what to say. “Ella, I thought we- we should probably not- I mean we’re not-“ She stumbles for something to say.

Ella pulls the phone closer so that just her face is in the frame. “Erin, will you be my girlfriend?” Ella has had made her mind up about this and that she was going to ask Erin for a while. She was going to wait until she was back in the US. She was waiting for the time to be right to ask. But now seems as good of a time as even.

Erin’s mouth hangs open. She’s in complete shock. “I thought you didn’t want to be my girlfriend?” She doesn’t accuse Ella in any way. It’s more of a curious question. More in a sense of ‘why is this happening, why now’.

“Well, our time apart has giving me perspective on what I want and what’s important in my life. I’ve realized that I miss you in more just a general sense. I miss seeing you, yes. But, I miss so much more than that. I miss everything. Your smile, your laugh, your soft brown eyes. That sort of stuff but also just being in the same room as you. It would give me such a feeling. A feeling that is hard to explain. When you are in the same room as me I feel like everything’s fine. I feel secure, protected, safe. In that way. I miss being able to touch you and hug you and hold you. I miss the way you smell. As weird as it might sound. The shirts I have of yours don’t smell like you anymore.”

“Shirts?” Erin quirks an eyebrow. She wonders how many shirts Ella swiped without her noticing.

“Not the point.” Ella smirks. “I know what I want now. You asked me what I wanted and I didn’t know. But, now I do. I know what I want. And I don’t want to waste any more time. Erin, I love you. I love that face of yours and even that stupid smirk that you have right now. I love how awesome you are at everything you do. I love your spirit and your outlook on life. Is it going to be easy? No. But now that I’m going to be home and I have found my love for soccer again in Denmark I don’t know what else there is.”

Ella pauses to see if Erin is going to say anything. She doesn’t.

“I want to play next season. I have offseason training in Colorado. The money that I made in Denmark is going towards that and plane tickets. That’s it. Those are the things that are most important to me right now.

“Plane tickets to where?” Erin asks, like a smartass.

Ella just smiles. It dawns on her that Erin never answered her question. So, she asks again. “Erin, will you be my girlfriend?” She smiles softly, waiting for Erin to say yes.

Erin’s heart skips a beat in her chest. There is a flutter in her stomach, butterflies. She’s surprised, yes, pleasantly so. But, there’s only one answer to that question. “Yes. Yes, a thousand times yes.” Erin grins from ear to ear.

Ella moves on swiftly. “Okay, good. Now that that’s settled, what’s your schedule like?” Ella really was going to wait until she was back in Illinois to do this but now that they are on the subject, why not? “I have to be in Colorado on December 4th. Other than Thanksgiving, I’m free.” Ella gets her calendar out and sets it on the table next to the bed. She gets a pen out to and gets ready to see what days Erin has free.

Erin is a little blown away. She definitely didn’t expect all of this when she decided to call Ella. The smile on her face hasn’t faded one bit in the last few minutes. If anything it’s gotten bigger with the realization that Ella is her girlfriend now.

“Erin?” Ella asks.

“Sorry. I’m just a little- a little. Wow. Okay.” She tries to think. “You know I have camp, right?”

“Yes, I do.” Ella nods.

Erin chuckles a little. “Okay. It’s fine. We’ll work around it. How about after Thanksgiving? I know you have lots going on before that.”

“That’s probably best. After Thanksgiving and before December 4th. Sound good.” Ella writes that down. Not that she’s going to forget.

“Yep.”

“Okay. I’ll look up flights as soon as I get home. I’m thinking the day after Thanksgiving to fly out and then I fly right to Denver on the 3rd or early on the 4th. That’s like four days. Is that enough time?” Ella wonders.

Erin laughs. “For what?”

Ella stares into the phone. “I don’t know. It’s basically just the weekend.” She shrugs.

“It’s plenty of time.” Erin assures. “Any time I get with you is going to be enough. We’ll make it worth it.” She tells Ella.

Ella nods. “Right. Yeah.” She puts the pen down and focus back in on Erin one hundred percent. “So, now what?”

Erin laughs. “I don’t know. How’s Paris?”

“Ah, it’s great. I love it. It reminds me of the last time I was here. I’ve thought about my dad a few times but it’s okay. Mostly good memories and nothing too sad. I wish he would have gotten to come here and we could’ve explored the city together.”

“That would’ve been nice.” Erin comments.

Ella talks about her travels for a while and Erin watches and listens as she talks. She doesn’t need to say much or have a large conversation. She just lets Ella talk. And Ella talks on and on. Over an hour passes and she starts yawning. That’s when Erin figures she should say something.

“You should go to bed, babe.”

Ella smiles. “Okay.” She gives in easily. Just for tonight. She doesn’t want to miss her flight tomorrow or anything stupid like that because she was too tired.

“Goodnight, Ella.”

“Goodnight. Oh, wait.” Ella smiles. “Afternoon.” She changes it and sticks out her tongue.

Erin rolls her eyes. “Go to sleep.” She instructs.

“Okay.”

“Ella?” Erin catches her before she hangs up. “One more thing.”

“Yeah.” Ella waits.

Erin smiles. “I love you.” It feels so good to say again.

Ella lips curl at the corners. “I love you too.” She blows Erin a kiss. “Bye.”

“Bye.” Erin sighs and hangs up the call.

All Ella manages to do before she falls asleep is set her alarm for the next morning. Sleep comes quickly and easily for her.


	24. Chapter 24

Ella has spent the majority of her day going through old stuff of her dad’s. It’s not something she could have done before now. It’s not something she could have done a few months ago. It’s not something she could have done in the past two years.

She finds some of her dad’s old albums in boxes in the back of the closet. She pulls some of them out randomly and goes downstairs to the record player. It amazes her that her mother has so much of her dad’s stuff.

“Whatcha doing?” Ella’s mother asks as she walks by.

“I found these.” Ella holds the records out in front of herself for her mom to see.

“Ooooh. Anything good.” Shelley asks with exaggeration. She walks over to Ella by the record player. “Do this one. Do this one.” Shelley points to a record as Ella flips through them trying to choose one.

Ella goes with her mom’s suggestion and puts the record on the player. It starts playing and Ella stands back. Her mother starts dancing around the room to the music. Ella smiles as she watches her mom dance around to the music. Her mother might not be the most conventional person, she might not be the most normal person, but Ella loves her dearly and loves that she is in a good place in her life.

The record plays on. Side A comes to an end as Ella sits on the couch next to her mother. Her mom has her eyes closed and she sways back and forth to the music.

“Go turn it over.” Shelley instructs her daughter. “My favorite is up next.”

Ella goes and flips the album over. It starts playing again and Ella returns to her seat. “Why is this your favorite?”

Without opening her eyes her mother speaks. “It brings back good memories. Of when I was young. Of when your brother and sister were babies. I remember dancing around the kitchen with them to this song.”

“Hmm.” Ella hums. She wonders further about the song and starts listening to the lyrics. It’s a fairly simple song. A rock ballad. She recognizes the song but isn’t entirely familiar with it. Ella sits intently and listens to the remainder of the album with her mom.

After it’s over her mom gets up. “I’ve been inspired. Thank you, dear.” She says and exits the room.

Ella shakes her head. She picks another album and puts it on. As she listens to it she thinks of her dad and how much he, and her mother, enjoyed music. All kinds of music.

* * *

 

“So, I found some of my dad’s old albums today and I was listening to them.” Ella mentions about five minutes into their FaceTime call.

“Find anything good?” Erin asks with interest. She loves music. Erin leans in a little closer to the camera.

“Ah, I don’t know.” Ella shrugs. “There was this one song. It really stuck with me. At first, my mom was listening with me. She said it was a song that brings back good memories for her. But then I listened to the words.”

“What song?” Erin wants to know if she knows it.

“The band is REO Speedwagon. They’re from the seventies, I think.”

“Okay.” Erin types the band’s name in her search bar. “What song?”

“It’s called Can’t Fight This Feeling.”

Erin smirks. She knows the song.

“What’s that face?” Ella asks.

Erin shakes her head. “I know the song. It’s a good song.” Erin gets on her laptop and does a search for the song, pulling it up on Youtube. It starts playing.

“That’s it.” Ella says when she hears the song.

“Interesting.” Erin hums as she listens to the song again. It’s been awhile since she’s heard it last. “So the words, huh?” Erin asks with a coy smile.

Ella bows her head. “Yeah.” She clears her throat. “They sort of reminded me of a few things.” She says shyly.

“What’s that?” Erin goats. She doesn’t want to make fun of Ella but she thinks it’s adorable when Ella gets all nervous when she talks about things that are close to heart.

The tips of Ella’s ears tint pink. “It reminded me of you. Not you really but- us. It’s fitting. The things we’ve gone through in the past couple of months. The distance and stuff. And me- me being me- me fighting through- figuring things out.” Ella is fidgety talking about things like this. Feelings and emotions and anything of that sort of conversation makes her uneasy and nervous.

“You might be onto something there.” Erin basically agrees with Ella. “It’s a good song.”

“I’m done fighting. Not that I was very good at it. I think my feelings for you were there from very early on. Like, there’s nothing I could have done. That was it. Fight and push and run. None of it would’ve worked. If I’m being honest, that’s part of why I went to Denmark.”

Erin sighs. Deep down she knew that.

“I wanted to see if things would change. If my feelings would change being so far away.” Ella laughs cynically. “I’m so stupid.” She shakes her head. “Some crazy part of me thought-“ Ella wipes her hand over her face. “-thought that something would change.” She doesn’t want to sound negative so she doesn’t say anything negative. “That’s the worst part.” Ella bites her lips. She’s so nervous to talk about stuff like this but she knows she needs to. If they are going to make this relationship work, they are both going to have to be open and honest. “First week, I felt like a made a mistake. I was so far away. In a strange land. All I wanted was something familiar. But then you called me and we talked and I knew then that everything would be fine.”

“You’re welcome.” Erin smirks.

“Don’t be such a sass.” Ella scolds. “I’m trying to have a serious conversation here.”

“I know. And I’m trying to lighten the mood.” Erin sticks out her tongue.

Ella smiles and sits back in her seat. She takes a deep breath and just watches Erin for a few seconds. “I can’t wait to see you.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to.” Erin grins. “But just a few more days.” Erin’s big grin fades to the softest of smiles. Her, just for Ella smile. “I can’t wait either. It’s been so long. Too long.”

“I know.” Ella sighs, somehow feeling guilty about that. “A few more days.”

“What do you want to do when you’re here?” Erin asks.

Ella shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. As long as I’m with you, it doesn’t matter.”

Erin tilts her head to the side. “Well, then.”

Ella smiles. “I miss you. There’s not much more I can say about that. I just miss you and love you and can’t wait to see you again.”

“Me too, babe, me too.” Erin sighs. She wishes it were Friday already. But it’s not. It’s Tuesday and she has to wait three more days to have Ella in her arms again.

“ELLA!”

“Oh, someone in trouble.” Erin teases.

Ella rolls her eyes. “It’s just my mom. She probably wants help with the cooking.” Ella shrugs off her name being yelled through the house.

“Thanksgiving isn’t til Thursday.”

“Pre-cooking. Stuff that can be cooked beforehand and warmed up on the day. Pies. Desserts. That sort of thing.” Ella explains.

“ELLA!” There’s another call.

“Sounds like she wants your help.” Erin says.

Ella looks over at her bedroom door. She can hear her mom out in the hallway. Her footsteps getting closer and closer.

“Ella?” Erin asks. The girl’s attention has been stolen from her.

“Ella.” Shelley busts through the bedroom door.

“Knock, mom.” Ella tells her mother. Not that she didn’t know she was coming or that she is in a private moment but a courtesy knock would be nice. Even after all these years her mother doesn’t get that.

Her mom knocks on the door, after the fact. “What are you doing? I need your help with the food.”

Ella jiggles her phone in her hand.

“Oh.” Shelley smirks knowingly. “Hello, Erin.” She yells.

Ella chuckles and shakes her head. She turns the phone around so that Erin can she her mom and vice versa.

“Hello, Ms.- Shelley.” Erin stops herself from making a mistake.

“Hi, dear. How are you? Are you excited for Friday? Cuz this one won’t shut the fuck up about it.” Shelley says bluntly.

Erin laughs.

“Mom.” Ella scolds.

“I’m very excited. Just like your daughter.” Erin grins.

“That’s good to here. If you don’t mind though, I need Ella’s help.” Shelley tells Erin flat out.

“No. No. That’s fine. I was just telling Ella that she should go help you.”

Shelley looks from Erin, on the phone, to Ella. “Smart girl.” She folds her arms over her chest. “I’ll let you saying your goodbyes. But I expect you downstairs in five minutes or less.”

“Bye, Shelley.” Erin chimes in from the phone.

“Toodles.” Shelley wiggles her fingers at Erin.

Ella rolls her eyes. Feeling ganged up on. “Alright.” Ella waits for her mom to exit the room before resuming with Erin. “I have to go.” She says a bit disgruntled.

“I know.” Erin laughs. “Go. Have fun. Be safe. And I love you.”

Ella smiles. She can’t be mad. “I love you too. Bye.” Ella hangs up and throws her phone down on the bed. She pulls her hair back and into a bun and makes her way down to help her mother.

* * *

 

Ella sits on the plane with her headphones on, tuning out the world around her. Usually she doesn’t mind if someone talks to her on planes but today she’s too excited to talk about anything other than the sole subject that’s on her mind. She doesn’t think she could make it through a conversation with someone without mentioning where she’s going or why she’s going there.

Meanwhile, Erin gets to camp early. She starts her morning workout before everyone else gets there. She talked to John a few days ago and asked for the afternoon off. He told Erin that she needed a good reason and that he can’t just be giving people off here and there for whatever. Erin explained to him that Ella was coming to visit and that she’s only going to be there for a few days. She promises that she will be back at training on Monday and will even put in an extra session the next week. Erin told John she’ll do whatever she needs to to get the afternoon off. John had clapped Erin on the shoulder and said she didn’t need to do all that and that she could have the day off with no worries.

Erin decided to get a workout in before she has to go though, anyway.

On her way to the airport Erin makes one stop. She makes her purchase and hurries on her way so she isn’t late.

Erin gets to the airport fifteen minutes before Ella’s plane is scheduled to land. She finds where Ella’s plane is supposed to come in and waits outside the secured area. She waits and waits. Erin sits in one of the chairs nearby with her leg bouncing anxiously. She can’t sit for long though so she stands up and starts walking back and forth. She keeps checking the arrivals board and once she sees that Ella’s flight has arrived she stops and stands in one spot to wait for the passenger’s to come out. She stands there, her right hand behind her back, rocking back and forth on the heels.

Erin spots Ella before Ella sees her. Everything in Erin wants to run over to Ella wrap her arms around her and kiss her senseless. But she can’t, she knows. So she waits. Erin waits for Ella to spot her and come over. Ella comes at Erin with the biggest smile on her face. Ella bites her lip when she’s within a few feet.

“Hey.” Ella whispers shyly and looks down at her feet.

“Hi.” Erin says softly. She pulls her right hand from behind her back revealing a bouquet of flowers. “These are for you.” She smiles crooked.

Ella gasps. “Erin.” She whispers in shock. “Why?”

Erin shrugs. “Just because.”

Ella takes the flowers and gives them a smell. It’s then that her emotions overwhelm her. Ella lunges forward and wraps her arms tightly around Erin’s shoulders and burying her face in the crook of Erin’s neck. “I missed you.” Ella sighs.

Erin holds Ella tightly. “I missed you too. I’m glad you’re here.” She tells Ella. “Let’s go get your bag and go home.”

Ella peels away from Erin. With her hand still on the back of Erin’s neck, she looks up into Erin’s eyes and grins. “Okay.” Ella lets go completely. She looks around them and sees a few people watching their reunion. Ella looks down at the flowers in her hand and blushes. A little embarrassed with the publicness of everything.

Erin opens the passenger’s side door and holds it open for Ella to get in. Ella smiles in thanks as she gets in. Erin then puts Ella’s bag in the back seat. She gets in and starts up the car. Before she can even back out of the parking space Ella has a grip on her hand. Erin looks down to see both of Ella’s hands wrapped around her right hand. “I’m gonna need that.” She smiles at Ella.

Ella leans on the center console with her elbow, leaning over towards Erin. “Thank you.” She whispers and presses her lips to Erin’s cheek.

Erin nods and smiles. “My hand though.” She squeezes Ella’s hand in hers.

“Sure.” Ella lets go of Erin’s hand and Erin backs out of the parking space and starts navigating out of the airport. As soon as they get away from the airport Ella has Erin’s hand in hers again.

It’s quiet as they drive to Erin’s place. The radio plays in the background. Erin focuses on driving but it’s not the easiest with her hand in Ella’s lap and Ella running her thumb over the skin and playing with her fingers while she drives.

Ella mostly just looks out the window, occasionally looking down at Erin’s hand, but always returning to the view out the window after a few seconds. It’s been many years since she’s been in Vancouver but she remembers some of the sights from the last time she was there.

Erin unlocks the door to her apartment and pushes it open. Maxwell steps out into the hallway and greets Erin before pausing and looking over at the person that is with his owner. He smells Ella and barks and wags his tail happily. Erin steps into the apartment and lets the two reunite.

Ella bends down and scratches Max behind the ears. “Hey, buddy.” She says to the dog. “How you been?”

Max pants excitedly and Ella picks him up and enters the apartment. Erin shuts the door after them and smiles. “Very cute.”

“I know I am.” Ella looks over at Erin.

“Oh, someone’s full of themselves.” Erin puts her hands on her hips. Ella puts Max down and goes to stand in front of Erin. She puts her hand on Erin’s chest. “What do you want to do now?” Erin asks with a smirk. “Tour of the apartment?”

Ella gives Erin a suggestive look. “There’s only one room I want to see.”

“Jesus.” Erin exhales and takes Ella’s face in her hands and pulls her in for a heated kiss.

Ella pulls away from Erin for some much needed air after a few minutes. She pulls her shirt over her head. “Bedroom. Now.”

Erin grabs Ella by the hand and pulls her to the bedroom.

* * *

 

Erin lays on her stomach next to Ella who is on her back. “I never want to be away from you for that long ever again.” Ella sighs.

Erin pushes herself up onto her elbows and looks over to check Ella’s face to see if she is serious. The words ‘ever again’ stick with Erin. She leans over for a gentle kiss. “Three months.” Erin smiles.

Ella raises her eyebrows. “Three months and six days. That’s a long time.”

“But who’s counting.” Erin jokes. It earns a smack on the arm from Ella.

“I’m serious.” Ella says.

“I know.” Erin smiles happily. She rolls over onto her back and holds her arms out at her sides.

Ella accepts the invitation and cuddles into Erin’s side, resting her head on Erin’s shoulder. “I love you.” Ella whispers. It’s a feeling that Ella is getting used to. Being comfortable sharing her feelings, being vulnerable, being open, being able to lay in bed like this with Erin. It’s all new to her but Ella is embracing it as it comes.

Plus, Erin makes it easy. She pulls Ella close and kisses the top of Ella’s head. “I love you, Ella.” She’s so happy right now she doesn’t think things could be any better than they are right now. The girl she loves finally in her arms again. There’s no better feeling.

* * *

 

After a quick nap, Erin shows Ella around the apartment ending in the kitchen and making a couple of sandwiches for a snack. Erin spreads mustard onto a slice of bread and looks over at Ella. She sighs taking in the beauty next to her wearing just a tank top and underwear. “You wanna go to dinner tonight?” Erin asks.

Ella looks over and smiles. “Yes.”

Erin leans over for a kiss. “Great. I’ll set it up. One other thing.” Erin pauses and bites her lip.

“Yeah.” Ella sees Erin’s hesitance and puts her palm on Erin’s cheek for reassurance.

“The team is going out for drinks tonight. They want me to come with but- I don’t have to- I just thought- nevermind it’s stupid.”

Ella presses her lips to Erin’s for a quick kiss. “What? Tell me.”

“I thought maybe you might want to come with. But, like I said, I don’t have to go.”

“No.” Ella runs her thumb across Erin’s cheekbone. She thinks about it for a minute. She’s hesitant but knows it might be her only opportunity to meet with some of her friends while she’s in Vancouver. Ella really wants to see Carm and Emily while she’s here. Yeah, there will be people there that Ella won’t know and maybe some that she doesn’t want to see but she wants to do this. “We’ll go. After dinner. We’ll go.” She seals her words with another kiss.

“Really?” Erin didn’t think Ella would be so open to hanging out with the Canadian National Team.

“Yeah.” Ella nods. “Now finish making my sandwich.” She says smugly and walks away.

Erin laughs. “Yes, dear.” She’s more than happy to finish making Ella’s sandwich. Anything she can do for her, she will.

* * *

 

Ella sits at a table with Carm and Emily. Each has a drink in their hands. Erin excused herself to go talk to Steph about something so the three sit together for the time being. “You sure it’s okay that I’m here?” Ella asks. She gotten a few looks from some of the girls. Some curious looks.

“For the third time, yes, it’s okay.” Carm says with a shake of her head. “I think a few people were just surprised, that’s all.”

Ella nods. “Okay.”

“Okay.” Carm leans across the table conspiratorially. “Tell us how dinner was. What did Erin do?”

“What do you mean, what did she do?” Ella wrinkles up her brow.

“Like, did she pull out all the stops? Did she take you somewhere super fancy?” Emily asks, leaning closer to Ella too.

Ella grins, thinking about dinner again.

“What?” Carm asks when she sees the way Ella smiles.

“She didn’t really do anything special. We went to dinner. That’s all. The place was nice but it wasn’t super fancy or anything.” Ella shrugs. “You guys, Erin’s great but she doesn’t have to do anything fancy for me.”

Carm shakes her head. “What a sap.” She takes a long drink from her beer.

Emily chuckles.

Ella rolls her eyes. “Can we talk about something else?” Ella doesn’t want to talk about her relationship with her friends. Even if they are her friends, she wants to keep some things private, just between her and Erin.

“Okay.” Emily says.

Ella looks around for Erin and spots her on the other side of the room. She is bringing her eyes back to her table where she catches a certain someone glaring at her. Ella accidentally makes eye contact and averts her eyes quickly. She looks down at the table and takes drink of her beer. Ella’s ears and cheeks feel like they are on fire. She feels like she’s been caught doing something wrong.

Carm senses the shift and sees Ella tuck into herself. She looks around for a reason way. She finds it a few tables away. “I’ll be right back.”

“Carm, no.” Ella says after her but Carm is already gone.

Carm marches over to Melissa’s table and folds her arms over her chest. “Listen, I know you’re pissed or whatever, but get over it. Don’t be a jackass. I know you’re better than that.” Carm gives Melissa a warning.

“Fine.” Melissa grumbles. She gets up and walks out of the bar.

Everyone on the team looks at Carm. “What?” She holds her palms in the air and shakes her head before spinning around and going back to her table.

“Maybe I should go.” Ella mumbles. “I’ll just- get a cab or whatever.” Ella starts gathering her things, feeling embarrassed and ashamed.

“Ella, no, don’t go.” Emily says unconvincingly.

“Stay.” Carm puts her hand on Ella’s arm trying to get her to sit back down.

“No, I think-“ Ella doesn’t get to finish her sentence.

“What’s going on over here?” Erin asks in a displeased voice as she comes back to the table. She saw Carm talking to Melissa and then saw Mel walk out.

“Nothing.” Carm says with an innocent smile.

Erin’s not buying it.

“I’m gonna get going. I’ll catch a cab. You stay here. Hang out with the team. Can I just have your keys so I can let myself in?” Ella says to the floor. She won’t look up. She knows all eyes are on her, on them. She won’t look at Erin.

Erin puts her hands on Ella’s shoulders. “What happened?”

Ella shakes her head. “It’s nothing.”

Erin looks to Carm and glares at her. “What?” She doesn’t feel like she did anything wrong. In fact, she was standing up for Ella. Erin should be thanking her.

“Alright. Since no one will tell me, we’re leaving.” Erin grabs hold of Ella’s wrist. She grabs her bag and escorts Ella out to the car.

The drive back to Erin’s is silence but not in a good way like it was on the way from the airport. This is a tense, uncomfortable silence.

“Erin, I’m sorry.” Ella says quietly.

“Let’s wait til we get home.” Erin says.

Ella slouches down in her seat and waits out the car ride. It seems excruciatingly long. They walk up to Erin’s apartment and Erin unlocks the door and lets Ella in. “I’m gonna take Max for a walk. Make yourself comfortable while I’m gone.”

Ella nods and Erin takes Max and closes the door. Ella looks around the apartment. She only spent a few hours here earlier in the day. She’s not sure what to do but knows that it’s getting late and she should probably just get ready for bed. Ella sighs. She knows she has to talk to Erin as soon as she gets back. It sucks because the day was going so well. Ella just wanted things to go well when she was here in Vancouver and everything was fine until tonight.

Ella changes out of the outfit she wore to dinner and changes into shorts and a t-shirt for bed. She brushes her teeth and washes her face. Ella wonders where she should wait for Erin. On the couch? In the kitchen? In the bedroom? She settles on sitting at the table. Ella sits and scrolls through her Twitter while she waits.

The door unlocks and Ella looks up to see Erin and Max entering. She gives Erin a tight-lipped smile that Erin returns. Erin gets Max settled. She gets him some food and some fresh water. Then she comes over and sits on the edge of the table. “So.” Erin puts her hand on top of Ella’s. “What happened? Be honest with me, please. Even if I might not like it. Especially, if I won’t like it.”

Ella sighs. She focuses in on their hands and starts. “I was looking around and I saw Melissa and- we- our eyes meet- but it wasn’t very- nice. I don’t want to be mean.” Ella looks up at Erin.

“Ella.” Erin needs to know exactly what happened.

Ella looks back down at the table. “She was glaring at me. Carm- like figured it out or something and went over there and said something to her. I don’t know what she said. Erin, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin everything.”

Erin pats Ella’s hand. “You didn’t ruin anything. It’s not your fault. I’m gonna have to talk to Carm and find out what she said and then I’m going to have to have a talk with Mel. I’ll handle it. It’s not your problem, or Carm’s, or anyone else’s.”

Ella hums. “Okay.”

“Training is going to be awkward on Monday.” Erin jokes trying to lighten the mood. Ella looks up again and gives Erin a weak smile, not really finding that funny. “Come here.” Erin tugs on Ella’s hand.

Ella gets up from her seat and rounds the corner of the table. She stands in front of Erin. Erin pulls Ella closer, pulling her to stand between her legs. Erin puts her hands on Ella’s hips. “I don’t want anything to ruin your time here or put you off from- from wanting to be here.” Erin voices with concern.

Ella rests her hands on Erin’s shoulders. “Nothing could.” She leans down and puts her forehead to Erin’s. “Just a little hiccup.”

“Okay.” Erin looks up at Ella through her eyelashes. “Cuz I want you to have a good time while you’re here.”

“I am. I will.” Ella promises. She presses her lips to Erin’s nose. “Let’s go to bed.”

“Ohh.” Erin smirks.

Ella rolls her eyes. “Not like that. I’ve been up since four am, my time. I’m tired.”

“Okay.”

Ella takes a step back and holds out her hand for Erin. Erin takes it and follows Ella to the bedroom. Ella gets in bed and let’s Erin change and brush her teeth. And Erin makes quick work of those things and hops into bed with Ella. “Roll on your side.” She tells the blonde.

Ella rolls over and Erin molds her body around Ella’s from behind. “I’m so happy that you’re here.” Erin kisses Ella’s shoulder. “It’s kinda surreal yet. Like I’m gonna wake up in the morning and it’ll have been a dream and you’ll be gone.”

Ella tries to rolls backwards into Erin but Erin won’t let her. “Erin.” She reaches back with her left hand and cradles the back of Erin’s head; craning her neck, Ella looks back at Erin the best that she can. “I’m not going anywhere. I love you.” She puckers her lips and waits for Erin to meet her for a kiss.

“Yeah.” Erin mumbles. She holds onto Ella tighter. “I love you.” Erin nuzzles her face into Ella neck, pressing her lips against the skin there. Erin wasn’t sure that this would ever happen. That this could ever happen. That Ella would be here with her in Vancouver. When she left Chicago in August it was only a tiny hope. And over the last couple months, at first, it faded; but then that hope grew againg with words of promise and purchasing of plane tickets. Erin’s still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Ella is actually here.

Ella gets comfortable and that doesn’t take much. This is all she wanted from her visit. Well, not all. But, to be able to sleep in the same bed with Erin. There have been far too many nights in the past three months where she longed for just that. The feeling of Erin wrapped around her, holding her close, keeping her safe and protected, is all Ella needs to fall into an easy sleep. “Goodnight.” Ella says sleepily.

“Goodnight, beautiful.” Erin replies.

Ella smiles a little. Erin’s words melting her heart just that extra little bit before she drifts off to a blissful sleep.


	25. Chapter 25

Ella wakes up in the morning with an arm draped over her stomach. She smiles when she consciously feels the pressure there. She rolls onto her side, facing Erin and smiles. She smiles because Erin’s mouth hangs open and little puffs off air come out in intervals. Ella smiles because the girl next to her is super cute and adorable in her sleep.

Ella leans in and presses her lips to Erin’s forehead. “Erin.” She sing-songs Erin’s name. “Time to get up.”

“No.” Erin mumbles. “It’s Saturday. I don’t have training. Time to sleep in.”

Ella chuckles, she knows Erin isn’t a morning person. Ella leans her body weight against Erin until Erin rolls onto her back. Ella then gets on top of Erin, straddling her hips. Erin’s eyes pop open as Ella lifts Erin shirt a little so she can see her stomach.

“Ella?” Erin questions with a quirked eyebrow. She’s definitely awake now.

“Yes.” Ella runs her fingertips over the skin at Erin’s stomach, circling around her bellybutton a few times before laying her hand flat.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing.” Ella shrugs.

“Does seem like nothing.” Erin says coyly.

“I wanted you to wake up.” Ella grins. “Worked. Didn’t it?”

Erin huffs out a breath. “Yesss.”

“And now that you’re up can we go in the other room and watch the game?” Ella questions with a sneaky grin.

“Nooo.” Erin whines. She knows what game Ella wants to watch.

“Please?” Ella begs.

Erin grins, thinking of something. “What do I get in return?”

“What? No. You get nothing. Your team doesn’t even play today. Come on, please?” Ella begs and pouts. “Pretty please. I’ll make you breakfast at halftime.” Ella offers. “We can watch your team when they play tomorrow. I won’t even protest.”

“Yeah? And I don’t have to do anything?”

“Hell, you can even go back to sleep. But you have to come sit with me.” Ella sweetens the deal.

“Okay.” Erin sits up so she’s face to face with Ella. She wraps her hand around the back of Ella’s neck and pulls her in for a kiss. “Let’s go, missy.”

Ella grins from ear to ear. She gets off the bed and runs into the other room and turns on the Manchester United game.

Erin gets out of bed a little slower. She pulls the comforter off the bed and drags it behind her. Ella is sitting at one end of the couch focused on the game. Erin smiles. It’s the simple things in life that make Erin happiest. And having Ella here, sitting on her couch, watching soccer is one of those things.

Max stands at Erin’s feet ready for his morning walk. “What do you think, buddy?” Erin asks the little dog. He just stares up at Erin. “Okay.” Erin goes behind the couch and bends over Ella. “I’ll be right back. Taking Mr. Max for his walk.”

Ella grunts in response, too focused on the game to actually use words.

Erin throws the comforter over the back of the couch and gets Max’s leash from the floor by the door. She grabs her coat and they are off for their walk.

It doesn’t take long and it’s only a walk around the block before Erin and Max are back at the apartment. Erin takes off her coat and shoes and goes to the kitchenette to get Max his breakfast. She moves quickly and once he has some fresh water Erin moves back towards the couch.

Erin moseys on over and sits on the middle couch cushion. She considers just sitting there but has a better idea. Erin lays down, putting her head in Ella’s lap, and pulling the comforter over herself. Erin turns her head and nuzzles her nose into Ella’s stomach.

“What are you doing?” Ella looks away from the tv and down at Erin.

Erin pulls the comforter to her chin. “It’s cold out this morning. Can you warm me up?” Erin pouts cutely.

Ella grins. She bends so she can kiss Erin’s forehead. “You’re a dork. But-“ Ella runs her hand over the top of Erin’s head, brushing her hair back. “-you are so cute right now. You want me to lay with you?”

Erin shrugs. “You don’t have to- this is fine.” She doesn’t want to make Ella move. She actually doesn’t want to move either. Erin quite like this position that they are in right now.

Ella puts her hands on Erin’s cheeks. They are cool from outside. She keeps her hands there for a few seconds letting them do their job and warm Erin’s cheeks. After a few seconds, though, Ella puts her right hand on the top of Erin’s head. Ella’s eyes are again pulled to the tv but her fingers playing with Erin’s hair and massage at her scalp as she watches the game.

Erin hums and gets comfortable. It’s really relaxing having Ella massaging her head. So much so that she gets sleepy again. Erin ends up falling asleep after a few minutes.

At halftime, Erin still isn’t awake. Ella lets her sleep. And even Max has joined them on the couch. He sits curled up on the opposite end, near Erin’s feet, off in dreamland too. Ella looks at the scene around her. Her favorite girl asleep in her lap, her favorite dog cuddled up at the end of the couch, and her favorite soccer team playing on the tv. It’s a near perfect morning in Ella’s mind.

She said she was going to make breakfast at halftime but Ella doesn’t want to disturb Erin. She’s hungry sure but if she waited this long she can wait another hour or so. Ella sits there and listens to the halftime commentary instead. Breakfast can wait til after the game. It will be more like brunch but Ella thinks that might be even better. The game is on so early here on the west coast that by the time it’s over it won’t even be noon.

* * *

 

Erin packs everything they will need into the picnic basket. She asked Ella if she wanted to go watch the sunset with her in the evening. Erin’s packing snacks, water, hot chocolate, and three blankets. It warmed up some during the day but it’s still cool out and Erin wants to make sure that they are warm enough while watching the sun set.

She has the perfect little spot that she wants to take Ella to. It’s a secluded area and Erin knows no one will be around. She’s been thinking about the spot for a few weeks now. Ever since Ella told her that she was coming to Vancouver and Erin started brainstorming ideas for things that they could do while Ella is here.

“I’m just about ready to go.” Ella comes out of the bathroom and looks blankly at Erin. “Where are we going?”

Erin smirks. “You’ll see. Finish getting ready.” Erin withheld the details from Ella. All Ella knows is that they are going to watch the sunset. Erin can’t even be mad that Ella wanted to take a shower before they go. She tried to argue that Ella didn’t need to, not telling her of course that even though would be in public they will be in an area with no other humans around them. Ella insisted that if they were going out that she needed to shower and that laying around all day made her feel lazy and need a shower.

Ella holds Erin’s hand in the car as she drives them to their destination. Ella watches and takes in the sights around her as they go. Vancouver is, somehow, more beautiful then she remembers.

Erin pulls up next to the water and parks the car. “Where are we?” Ella asks.

“I found this spot a couple months ago. It’s nice. Let’s go.” Erin makes a move to get out of the car.

Ella releases Erin’s hand and they both get out of the car. Ella zips up the jacket that she borrowed from Erin as she waits for Erin to grab the picnic basket out of the back. Max hops out of the backseat after Erin removes the basket.

Max leads the way and Erin sets the basket down on the beach about twenty feet from the water’s edge. She takes out one blanket and lays that down and kneels on top of it. Erin holds out her hand. “Join me.” She offers.

Ella smiles and bites her lip. Erin’s really getting brownie points right now. Ella’s not a big gesture, grand romance kind of gal but every time Erin surprises her with something even remotely romantic Ella feels those butterflies in her stomach, that smitten feeling, the giddiness of excitement. Ella takes Erin’s hand and steps onto the blanket. Erin helps her sit and Ella smile shyly in thanks.

Erin works on getting out the snacks. Berries and whipped cream and the hot chocolate.

“Wow.” Ella is amazed at the things that Erin pulls from the picnic basket.

“I wanted to have a little snack while we were here.” Erin offers the container of berries to Ella. Ella takes them and opens the lid.

“You did good.” Ella smiles down into the container. She loves berries.

Erin grins, knowing. Knowing she did good. Knowing that Ella loves berries. Knowing the prefect snack for this occasion.

As the sun dips lower and lower in the sky it cools off. Erin cover them with a blanket. They sit side by side with Max at Erin’s feet. Erin holds the container with the berries and Ella holds the container of whipped cream. They take turns picking a berry and dipping it in the cream.

Ella picks out a strawberry with an idea in mind. She dunks it in the whipped cream and holds it out in front of Erin. Erin meets Ella’s eyes, asking a silent question. Ella smiles and brings the strawberry to Erin’s lips. Erin takes a bite, biting the strawberry in half. She chews that and then wraps her lips around the rest of the strawberry. They brush against Ella’s fingers as she pulls the fruit into her mouth with a smirk.

Erin looks out over the water. The sun is setting. The sky is a cool yellow color. Some ducks have come in for a landing and make their splashdown leaving ripples in her water. “Look.” Erin whispers, pointing out to the water.

“It’s beautiful.” Ella whispers and watches the ducks float along.

“It is.”

“And so peaceful.” Ella says and looks to Erin. “There’s no one here.”

Erin locks eyes with Ella. “Nope.”

Ella is the one who leans in first. Erin follows her lead and connects their lips for a slow, tender kiss.

“This was perfect. Thank you.” Ella mumbles against Erin’s lips.

Erin smiles. “You’re welcome.” She’d do anything to put a happy smile on Ella’s face, like the one that’s there now. Erin wraps her arm around Ella and holds her tight to her side.

They sit there and watch as the sun sets and it’s starts to get dark. Erin starts packing things up just before it gets dark and they can’t see by natural light anymore. “Let’s go home.” Erin holds out her hand for Ella. Ella takes it quickly and they walk back to the car. Max follows them, quickly on their heels.

In the car, on the way back to the house, Ella has her phone in one hand with Erin’s hand in the other. She scrolls through the pictures that she took today. Most of them are of the scenery, the sunset, the water, but there are two that she took of her and Erin together. Ella smiles at the beauty she sees in the photos. Every single one is amazing.

Ella picks one of the photos with the ducks on the water at dusk and posts it to her Instagram page with the simple caption ‘At peace’.

Erin squeezes Ella’s hand. “Whatcha going?” She asks when she glances over and sees Ella on the phone.

“Nothing.” Ella smiles dopey at Erin and puts her phone down.

Erin nods, not believing Ella one bit. She knows Ella was up to something on her phone.

* * *

 

Erin sits at the end of the couch with Max sitting next to her. Ella sits on the other side of Max. The Manchester City game is on the tv and Erin is glued to the game.

Ella is on her phone texting away. She’s watching the game but only when she’s not busy texting.

Erin notices the texts coming in and going out and Ella typing away feverously at the keys. It’s only after about a dozen or so chimes from incoming text that Erin takes her focus away from the game and asks about it.

Erin averts her eyes from the television. “Who are you texting with?” She asks, slightly annoyed.

Ella drops her phone in her lap. “Sorry.” She says with a blank face.

“Who are you texting?” Erin tries again.

Ella scrunches up her face. “It’s none of your business.”

Erin doesn’t have a comeback for that one. She just folds her arms over her chest and goes back to watching the game.

A few minutes pass and Ella picks up her phone again and sends another text. She gets a response immediately and laughs loudly at what it says.

Erin huffs in Ella’s direction. “Seriously?” Erin squawks, clearly frustrated and annoyed with Ella’s texting.

Ella shrugs. “What?” She doesn’t see any harm in what she’s doing.

“Who are you texting? And what’s so funny?” Erin says glumly. She feels left out.

Something clicks in Ella’s head. She raises an eyebrow. “Are you jealous?”

Erin looks at the tv. Staring at it, not blinking. “What? No.” She grunts.

“You are, aren’t you?” Ella baits Erin.

Erin’s eyes find their way back to Ella. All hard and fiery. “Should I be?” She doesn’t want to admit it but, yes. She’s jealous of whoever is on the other end of that text conversation with Ella. She’s jealous of whoever it is that is stealing all of Ella’s attention and making her laugh.

“I don’t know.” Ella picks up Max and moves to sit in his spot next to Erin. She sets Max on her lap once she’s settled.

Erin watches Ella with a curious scowl. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Erin asks bitterly.

“It means-“ Ella puts her hand on Erin’s leg. “-I don’t know. Are you jealous?” She shows Erin her phone and the text conversation that she’s having.

Erin sees the name at the top of the screen and glares over at Ella. “Screw you.”

Ella laughs. “Well, if that’s my punishment.” She dares to joke.

Erin’s not laughing though. It’s not funny to her. She huffs out an annoyed breath.

“Oh, come on.” Ella wraps her arm around Erin’s shoulder. “I was just messing with you. But, it’s just Zurrer. She wants to know if I can come out and play later today. Can I go? Please?” Ella asks an inch away from Erin’s face. “Pretty please?” She kisses Erin’s cheek.

Erin rolls her eyes. “Fine. Whatever.”

“Thanks.” Ella kisses Erin’s cheek again. “I love you.” She says sweetly.

Erin turns to look at Ella again. She can’t be mad at that pretty face. “I love you too.” She sighs. “But don’t do something like that again.”

“Fair.”

“Good. Now let me watch the rest of the game. When are you leaving?” Erin asks.

“Em and I are going to meet for lunch. So then.” Ella says and cuddles into Erin’s side and rests her head on Erin’s shoulder.

“Okay.” Erin kisses the top of Ella’s head and puts her arm around her, making sure she doesn’t go anywhere until she has to leave to meet Emily.

* * *

 

Erin sits down on the end of the bed on Monday night just after she’s gotten home from training. She puts her hands together between her knees. She listens as Ella rambles on about her workout this morning and then rambles on about the walk she took around downtown and all the things she saw during her adventures for the day. Erin listens but she trying to keep her thoughts in line. She has to stay focused.

“How was your day?” Ella directs at Erin from the doorway.

Erin wrinkles her eyebrows together. “Good.” She says plainly.

“That’s good. What did you do at training?” Ella asks a follow up question.

Erin licks her lips and swallows thickly. Something came up during training and Erin knows she needs to talk to Ella about it. “Ella. Sit down.” Erin pats the bed next to her.

Ella furrows her brow. “I don’t like the sound of that.” She folds her arms over her chest and stays rooted in her spot.

Erin sighs. “Can you just sit?”

Ella frowns. She doesn’t want to. She doesn’t like the uneasy body language that she is now sensing from Erin. She knows that whatever Erin wants to say or do she isn’t going to like.

“I need to talk to you about something.” Erin says looking down at the floor when Ella won’t come over to the bed.

“Okay.” Ella leans up against the doorframe. “Go ahead.”

Erin sighs and brings her hand to the back of her neck and rubs at it nervously. “So I have this opportunity.” She says to the floor.

Ella raises an eyebrow. Her mind spins with possibilities. An opportunity. It could be anything. She tries to remain calm and not jump to conclusions.

“As you know, the Winter Olympics are coming up.”

“Are you going to be a winter Olympian now too?” Ella jokes.

Erin shakes her head. She looks up and over at Ella with a smile on her face. “No. The Olympics are in Sochi and I don’t know if you know this or not or if you follow what’s going on in regards to the LGBT community and athletes that are going to Russia.”

“Not really.” Ella frowns.

“Basically, Russia has anti-gay laws. More or less the country is anti-gay and they have banned any gay ‘propaganda’ as they call it. There are many safety concerns for any gay athletes that are going there to compete. It’s a whole thing.”

“Okay. But what does this have to do with an opportunity?” Ella doesn’t really get where Erin is going with this. Ella relaxes her shoulders and drops her arms from covering her chest.

Erin exhales a loud breath. “I’m not going to Russia. And I don’t have to worry for my safety. But I want to do something. I want to make a difference. But-” She looks Ella directly in the eyes. “-I’m not going to do it if you aren’t okay with it.”

Ella swallows. “What are you talking about?” She asks shakily.

“I want to come out publicly.” Erin says pointedly.

The shock on Ella’s face is clear and apparent. “Oh.” Her mouth hangs open.

“So, I have this opportunity. To do an interview and have an article writing about me. To be on a committee to fight for LGBT rights. But, I want to talk to you about it first. I want to make sure you are okay with this.”

“Why are you asking me?” Ella’s been thrown for a loop. She’s not sure what to say or how to respond.

“You are the first person, and the most important person that I have to talk to about this. This opportunity is about me but it’s also about you. That being said-“ Erin pauses. “-you don’t need to be brought up at all. If that’s what you want. I won’t do anything that you aren’t comfortable with.” Erin promises.

Ella nods her head.

“You have become a major part of my life. And I feel like now is the right time. I want to help people. I want to be a role model. And you-“ Erin points to Ella. “-have been a huge part of that. I want to always be myself. And I want to always be the best version of myself that I can be. I want to be open and free. And I believe that by doing this I can truly be.”

Erin licks her lips. “I’ve thought about this. I know it could be risky. It means people could connect us being together. I know the internet is full of conspiracy theories, and rumors, and speculation, and lies. I know that. I know that people makes stuff up. And I know that you aren’t- aren’t comfortable with letting people outside our families and friends know. And that’s something that I understand. And something that is okay, for now. So, I need to know what your thoughts are and what you’re comfortable with me saying and not saying for this interview.”

Ella bites her lip and stares down at the floor. She thinks for a few moments. And Erin lets her. She doesn’t say anything to disturb Ella’s thought process. She feels a little guilty that she is dropping this bomb on Ella right now. Whatever decisions are made in the remainder of this conversation are serious decisions. They could have an impact on the future. On their future and what it might or might not hold. The decisions that are made are potentially life changing. The decisions could lead in the direction that their relationship will take. Erin believes that things in your life happen for a reason but also that you can make decision that shape how things will happen.

“This is your story. Make it all about you. I don’t want to mess that up. I don’t want to be a part of that.” Ella says solemnly.

Erin bows her head and sighs. She figured that would be Ella’s answer. The hopeful part of her thought that maybe Ella would want to be part of that story but that’s not the case. “Okay.”

For Ella, it’s too much, too soon. She thinks that if they continue, maybe one day she can be a part of Erin’s story, but now isn’t that day. “Why now?” Ella asks.

Erin shrugs. “I told you. I want to make a difference.”

“Erin.” Ella sighs.

“What?” Erin frowns over at Ella.

“I know it’s more than that.”

Erin sighs. She folds her hands together, squeezing them tight together in her lap. “I want to do it for- for what’s going on in Russia- that’s not right.” Erin shrugs. “And- I guess- I want to do it for -for selfish reasons. I know that’s not the best reason but it’s true. Luckily, I don’t have to go to Russia and compete in Russia but that discrimination doesn’t just exist in Russia. Anywhere in the world. I can’t help but think of the next summer Olympics, or even the World Cup.” Erin starts speaking in hypotheticals. “I wouldn’t want to be discriminated against.”

“Isn’t the next World Cup here?” Ella interrupts Erin’s thoughts.

“Yeah, but- the Olympics are more international, across many sports, not just soccer. It’s a bigger stage. A bigger deal, in a way. And I wouldn’t want to have to deal with something like what’s happening in Russia. I want to stand up for the LGBT community and help make change happen.” Erin pauses.

“Say I’m in a big game, an important game. Olympics or otherwise. I would want to be able to thank the person I love for their love and support. I would want to be able to embrace them after the game. I wouldn’t want to be afraid or be condemned for who I love.” Erin starts to get a little emotional. “And before you say anything- if that’s you- I don’t have to- it doesn’t have to be in name- it’s something that I would talk to you about- of course.”

Ella pulls her lips to one side. She pushes herself off of the doorframe and goes over to the bed and sits down next to Erin. Ella puts her arm around Erin and pulls her into her side.

Erin lays her head on Ella’s shoulder. “I love you, Ella. If you don’t want me to do this, I won’t but I really think this is a great opportunity. When I was a little kid I had all these athletes and role models that I looked up to. We live in a different world today than when I was six or seven. I didn’t know of any- there weren’t any out gay athletes. I idolized some of these people but none were like me. Not that I knew that I was gay when I was a kid but- you get what I’m saying. I want to be someone who is proud to be who they are and doesn’t hide anything. I want to be someone kids look up to, idolize.”

“Michael Jordan.” Ella says.

“What?” Erin lifts her head off of Ella’s shoulder and looks at her.

“In Illinois. Not that far from Chicago. In the nineties. Michael Jordan was like God. Tyson and I idolized him. We wanted to be like Mike.” Ella grins as something pops into her mind. “You ‘member when we went to the Bulls game back in May.”

Erin smiles as memories from that night come flooding back. “How could I forget? Best. Night. Ever.”

Ella chuckles. “You’re such a dork. You don’t even like basketball.”

“That’s not true.” Erin argues.

Ella sighs, changing the subject. “I was so scared that night.”

“You didn’t seem like it. Nervous, yeah. But scared?” Erin asks.

Ella shrugs. “I was terrified. Here I was asking you to go to a basketball game with me but with other ideas in my mind the whole night.”

“Other ideas?” Erin is intrigued. “Like what?”

“I wanted to- I wanted to like make a move. I wanted to kiss you. Or you to kiss me. That was all I could think about. It’s crazy, I know. But, I was stuck on that.” Ella admits quickly and quietly.

Erin smiles at the girl to her right. Looking back at the past is interesting, to say the least. And finding out things she didn’t know is both enlightening and adorable.

“I chickened out though.” Ella says shyly.

“But I didn’t.” Erin smirks. She remembers their first kiss fondly.

_There was the basketball game which was fun and entertaining. That came with a few beers and a hot dog for Erin and Ella, adding a little courage and loosening them both up. When the game was over Ella drove them back to the apartment building and parked her car._

_Sitting in the car Ella turned to Erin. “Thank you for coming with me tonight. I had a really great time at the game. With you. Even if basketball isn’t your thing.”_

_“Just cuz I got one rule wrong doesn’t mean I don’t like basketball. I just don’t watch it, or go to games often.” Erin argues her side._

_Ella laughs. “Regardless, I had a great time.”_

_Erin leans on the center console with her left elbow. “Me too.” She leans closer to Ell,a slowly. “Thanks for inviting me.” Erin closes the distance and press her lips to Ella’s gently. It’s but a peck, nothing more than a press of their lips together, but the kiss does its job. “Goodnight.” Erin smiles and exits the car and goes up to her apartment._

“I sat in my car for a good ten minutes after you left. I was so stunned and amazed.” Ella smiles shyly.

Erin grins cockily. “See. Best night ever.”

“I think we have had many nights since than that topped that.” Ella says.

“True.” Erin wiggles her eyebrows and leans in for a kiss.

Ella giggles but kisses Erin back with gusto.

“I want you to do this. But, I can’t be a part of it.” Ella brings her hand up to Erin’s cheek. “I love you.” She kisses Erin’s quickly. “But this has to be about you. You are any amazing woman and you are about to help so many people. Change so many lives. I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t do this. You have my full support. I am so proud of you.” She goes in for a more passionate kiss.

“Thank you.” Erin mumbles the second before their lips meet.

* * *

 

“I’d walk in with you but I have to be at training in thirty minutes.” Erin apologizes for just dropping Ella off at the door.

“It’s fine, Erin.” Ella says and gets out of the car.

Erin gets out too and gets Ella’s bag out of the back. She sets it down on the sidewalk and stands in front of Ella unsurely.

“I’ll see you soon.” Ella holds out her hand.

Erin takes Ella’s hand with a smile. “Yeah. I’ll see you soon.” She repeats Ella’s words.

No sad goodbyes today. No crying this time. Just smiles and lot of looks. Ella looks Erin up and down once more before she goes. She squeezes Erin’s hand and pulls on it to get Erin closer. Ella wraps her arms around Erin tightly. “I’m gonna miss you so much. But I’ll be back soon.”

“I’m already counting down the days.” Erin says cheesily.

“I’m not even gone yet.” Ella chuckles.

“I know. But I can’t wait til you get back.” Erin says. “I love you.” She whispers.

Ella turns her head to face Erin’s neck. She presses a kiss just below her ear. “I love you too.” She says and releases Erin from their embrace. Ella grabs her bag with one hand. “I’ll text you when I land.”

Erin nods. “Okay.”

Ella bites her bottom lip. “Bye.” She says and turns to go.

“Bye.” Erin smiles tight-lipped. She doesn’t want Ella to go but knows she has to. Erin stands there as Ella gets further and further away. She admires the girl she loves as she walks into the airport.

Ella looks over her shoulder when she gets to the door and sees Erin still standing there. She smiles and waves. Erin waves back. Ella shakes her head and continues on her way. She has a flight to Denver to catch.


	26. Chapter 26

Ella has been in Denver for just over a week and her offseason training is going great. She has great trainers and even greater training partners. She’s been thinking about a few things recently. The most common topic would be all the changes that she’s made in her life recently. Mostly good changes. Some scary changes. And some happy changes. Ella thinks it’s time for one more major change.

Ella talks to Erin just before bedtime.

“Hey, babe.” Erin smiles.

Ella smiles. It’s always great to hear Erin’s voice. “Hi. How are you?” It’s the first question when they talk every night.

“I’m good. Same ole same. Nothing exciting here. We had training today. Last one of the week.” Erin’s glad that it’s Friday and she gets the next two days off. If you can call it that. They have to do recovery work on the weekends. “What about you? Are they killing you over there?”

Ella chuckles. “No. The first few days were a bit to get used to but now I’m all good with the routine. I have been thinking about something though. I wanted to get your opinion.”

“What’s up?” Erin asks.

“I think it’s time for a change.” Ella thinks it time to add one more thing to the list of changes she’s made recently.

“What kind of change?” Erin’s interest is piqued.

“With my hair.” Ella tells her.

“You’re not gonna like shave your head or something.” Erin jokes.

“Why?” Ella questions. “Would you stop loving me?” She challenges.

“I’ll never stop loving you.” Erin says earnestly.

“Erin.” Ella sighs.

“What?”

“Changing the color.” Ella keeps the conversation moving forward.

“Is it gonna be red cuz I don’t know if I could do red. Like it’ll be fine cuz it’s you and I’ll get used to it and you’ll look great. Of course. You always look great but I don’t know if I can do red.” Erin rambles on about the color red.

Ella laughs. “No, not red. Don’t worry. I was thinking shade of brown.” Ella starts playing with her hair as they talk about it.

“Ohhhh. Brown. Brown’s good. I like brown.” Erin says enthusiastically. “I’m sure you’ll look fabulous with whatever color you choose.” Erin throws in for good measure. It’s hard to be smooth over the phone but Erin tries her best.

“Thank you, dear.” Ella sighs. “I just think it’s time for a change. We are quickly approaching a new year. I figure a new year, a new me. A new perspective on life, and a new outlook on the future.”

Erin grins. “I like that.” She can’t wait to see what Ella comes up with. “I can’t wait to see the new do. The new you.”

Ella chuckles and bites her lip. “You’ll be the first to see it.” She promises.

“Solid.” Erin does a first pump.

Ella laughs. “Like anyone else would be first.”

“You never know.” Erin says.

Ella rolls her eyes. “Right.” She knows Erin is just messing with her. She knows, Erin knows she’d be the first.

Their conversation changes to more mundane, everyday things.

* * *

 

On the twenty-third of December an article comes out about Erin and how she wants to lead by example and how being out is a part of doing that and being a role model for young girls.

Three days later, the day after Christmas, Ella sends out a tweet with a link to the article. She shows her support for Erin and says she is proud of her. Also saying that love will always prevail.

It’s a powerful statement from Ella considering her colorful past in regards to the not so nice things she’s said about the gay community. Ella’s leg bounces nervously in the minutes after she sends out the tweet. She knows she’s doing the right thing. She’s on the right side this time. She knows that her past negative comments are out there on the internet. But, Ella’s not going to shy away from them or request that they be taken down. Ella will own up to saying those hurtful things if anyone asks her about them but she with also say that she has changed her beliefs since then. Back then, that’s honestly what she thought, and believed, and was taught.

Times have changed, though, and so has Ella. She wants people to know that too. She wants people to know that she isn’t the same person anymore. Ella realizes that she was in the wrong in the past. That her words were hurtful, hateful, and homophobic. And that’s something that she has to live with. That’s something that she has had to accept. But, Ella has learned from that and has moved forward.

* * *

Erin sees the tweet when she’s scrolling through her phone as she’s waiting for family lunch to begin. Erin smiles contently. The last few days have been a whirlwind for her. All the positive reactions she’s gotten from soccer fans and non-soccer fans has been overwhelming. She couldn’t be happier with how things have gone in terms of her coming out publicly. And now, it’s great to be around family and friends and having everyone together to celebrate the holidays.

Erin sends out a quick text. **I love you.** Simple. She looks around the table but feels like she needs more, needs to do more. “Excuse me, I have to make a phone call.”

“Right now? We’re just about to eat.” Her mother says, disapproving of the timing.

“I’ll make it quick. I promise. It’s important.” Erin walks out of the dining room and into the quiet of the living room.

She waits for the call to connect and hopes that Ella picks up.

“Hello.” Ella answers.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Erin bites her lip.

Ella smiles. “But, I did.” She’s proud of herself for doing it. “I needed to do it. I needed to do it for myself.”

“Huh, really?” Erin wasn’t expecting that.

“It’s a step in my journey. The first step.” Ella says.

Erin makes a noise of disagreement. “I wouldn’t say it’s the first step, but yes. It’s a step.” Erin smiles as the realization of what Ella did fully sinks in.

“Yeah, it’s about you but it also has something to do with me. I’m going to back and support you, Erin. I told you that. I told you I was going to support you.”

“I didn’t think-“ Erin shakes her head. She almost can’t believe it. “I didn’t think it would be so publicly.”

Ella shrugs it off. “I don’t have that many followers.” She doesn’t think too many people will see the tweet or make any comments about it.

“Still. You didn’t have to do that. I’m so proud of you for doing that. Wow.” Erin can’t really wrap her head around everything right now. It’s so surreal.

Ella chuckles. “No, Erin. I’m the one who’s proud. Didn’t you read my tweet?”

“Oh, I did.” Erin read it once and then twice and three times before it sunk in. “Love will always prevail.” Erin quotes the tweet. “I freaking love you so much, Ella. So much. Thank you.”

Ella hums. She feels great about her tweet now. She is filled with so much pride and so much happiness and it feels like it’s just seeping out of her. “I love you.” Ella simplifies things.

“I have to go. It’s lunchtime and mom’s mad that I left to make this call but I just couldn’t wait. I’ll call you tonight.” Erin promises.

“I look forward to it. Go spend time with your family. You deserve it.” Ella tells Erin earnestly.

“Thanks, babe. Bye.” She hangs up the phone and goes back into the dining room with the large grin on her face.

Cara asks her about it. “What’s with the teeth show?”

Erin narrows her eyes at Cara. “Shut up.” Erin sits at her set and tunes everyone out for a couple of minutes as she thinks about Ella and what she did. In some ways that tweet should be no big deal, but to Erin it means the world and more. It’s a huge statement.

* * *

 

“The responses I’ve gotten so far are all so great and positive. People, from kids, teenagers, to adults in their forties have sent me responses and emails. It’s so overwhelming. But in a good way. It’s good to know that what I’m doing is making a difference. I’m changing people’s lives, Ella. That’s what they are telling me. You don’t know how good that feels.”

Ella smiles. “That’s great, Erin. I’m so proud of you.”

Erin sighs and puts her fist to her chin. “I couldn’t do it without you.” She says sappily.

“Oh, I’m sure you could.” Ella doesn’t want any credit for what Erin has done. She didn’t do anything.

“No. I couldn’t.” Erin insists. “I don’t know if you know this but- I’ve never felt anything with anyone else- like the way I feel when I’m with you. Ella, you make me feel things that I could have only dreamt of or wished up. I feel love. I feel loved. You make me feel things. It’s hard to put into words but I feel like I’m on a high or something. I feel lighter, freer. I feel like anything is possible. Like I can do anything. And nothing is out of reach. As corny as it is- true love sets you free.”

“Wow, Erin.” Ella definitely didn’t know all that. “I don’t-“

“You don’t have to say anything.” Erin says with a smile. “I love you.”

“I love you, Erin.” Ella sighs. She loves being able to say those words. She knows what Erin feels because she feels it too. She feels that freeness. That feeling of everything being better. That feeling of having someone that makes it all worth it.

“I can’t wait to see you again.” Erin says with a frown.

“We can see each other right now.” Ella tries to joke.

Erin sighs. “You know what I mean. In person.”

“Less than five days, babe.” Ella bites her lip. She can’t wait either. It’s only been a few weeks since they last saw each other but it feels like so much longer than that. “I’ll be there soon.”

“I can’t wait to hold you, and kiss you, and stare at that pretty face of yours. I can’t wait to see your new hair up close. And I can’t wait to run my fingers through it. I can’t wait to get you all to myself. To run my hands over that sexy body of yours.” Erin hums and closes her eyes imagining it.

“Erin?” Ella whispers. She knows what Erin is thinking.

“Hmm.” Erin hums and looks into the camera again.

“Knock it off.” Ella scolds.

“I’m not doing anything.” Erin throws her hands up in the air.

“You are. And you know it.”

“Can’t I imagine?” Erin wonders aloud. She’s just trying something out. See how far she can go. How far Ella will let her go.

“That depends.” Ella folds her arms over her chest.

“On?”

“What you’re imagining.” Ella raises an eyebrow.

“Well-“ Erin licks her lips. “I was imagining- you laying on my bed- topless. And me hovering over you- admiring every inch of you and then-“

“Stop.” Ella squeaks out. She has her eyes closed tight.

“What?” Erin smirks.

“You- you need to stop.” Ella stutters. She licks her lips, takes a deep breath, and tries to compose herself. “We can’t do this.”

Erin frowns and pouts at Ella through Facetime.

“Don’t give me that look. Five days. You have to wait.” Ella points her finger at the camera.

“You’re no fun.” Erin folds her arms over her chest.

“Careful what you say.” Ella threatens. “How was lunch with the fam? How’d that go?” Ella changes the subject to something that’s very far away from what they were talking about.

Erin sighs, disappointedly. “Way to kill the mood.” She grumbles. Erin takes a deep breath. “It was good. It’s always good to get everybody all in one place and spend some time together. That doesn’t happen very often. So I’m glad it happened today. I’m going shopping with my sister’s tomorrow so that should be fun. I love shopping with them.”

“You love shopping in general.” Ella comments.

“True.” Erin grins big. “How are the girls?”

“Great, but so exhausting. I had to take a nap this afternoon while they were taking a nap.” Ella frowns. “It wasn’t cool. They have so much energy. And they want to play all the time. They make me feel old.”

Erin laughs. “My niece and nephew are the same way. Maybe I should let you get to bed, old lady. It’s getting late there, after all.”

“It’s barely nine.” Ella frowns. “And I’m not old.”

“You just said you were.” Erin argues.

“No. I said, they made me feel old, not that I was old. You’re older than I am so I wouldn’t be talkin’ McLeod.” Ella shoots back.

“Okay, okay. No, but seriously. I have to go. I was told that I need to be present for story time before bed. My sister’s kids love when I tell them stories.” Erin says.

Ella grins. “That’s cuz you’re great at storytelling. I love when you tell me stories. Real or otherwise.” Ella imagines Erin sitting on the bed with her niece and nephew, telling them a story, using silly voices and all sorts of hand motions.

“Why thank you.” Erin takes the praise. “Storytelling and then I think I’ll have to take a cold shower.” Erin smirks.

“That’s your own fault.” Ella informs Erin.

Erin shrugs. She doesn’t disagree. “Have a good night. El. I love you. And sleep well.”

“I will.” Ella sighs. “I love you too. Good night.” Ella ends the call and sets the phone down. She runs her hands through her hair and thinks about a few days from now when she gets to see Erin again.

* * *

 

Ella doesn’t get to Vancouver until mid-afternoon. She goes through customs and immigration and hurries through the airport. She can’t wait to get the next two weeks started. Ella feels so very lucky to be able to be here in Vancouver and get to spend time with Erin for two weeks straight.

Ella gets her phone out and calls Erin. “I’m here.” She says as soon as she hears Erin say hello.

Erin chuckles. “I’m out front.”

“What no personal greeter with flowers today?” Ella teases.

“I’m out front.” Erin repeats.

“Okay. See you in a bit.” Ella hangs up the call and hurries out of the airport. She spots Erin in no time at all and goes over to the car. Ella puts all her belongings in the backseat and then hops in the front.

Erin smiles at Ella as soon as she’s seated. She holds a single rose in her hand.

“For me?” Ella asks.

Erin nods and holds out the rose for Ella to take. Ella does and brings the rose to her nose to smell. Erin grabs the little paper bag that by her feet while Ella is admiring the rose. “This too.” She holds out the bag. “I know it’s not Sunday but-“ Erin shrugs. “-I thought you’d be hungry when you got here. Those little snacks on planes are nothing.”

Ella takes the bag and looks inside as Erin puts the car into drive and pulls away from the airport. Inside the bag are two pastries. One donut with cream cheese icing. And one croissant. Ella examines the contents and then looks over at Erin. She waits for the car to come to a stop at a red light then leans over, wrapping her hand around Erin’s neck, leaning in, and pressing a kiss to Erin’s cheek.

“What was that for?” Erin looks over at Ella curiously.

“Thanks.” Ella lifts the little paper bag. “And- and-“ Ella sighs. “I’m so happy to be here.” She smiles like a child on Christmas morning, with delight.

Erin looks back to the road and tries to focus on driving. “Your hair looks great, by the way.” Erin didn’t have any doubt that it wouldn’t. She saw the pictures but in person you get the full effect. And it’s an effect that she really likes. Erin turns the radio up a little and lets Ella eat her pastries.

The drive back to Erin’s apartment doesn’t take too long and Erin is unlocking the apartment door. Maxwell runs over to the door when they enter. “Hey, buddy.” Erin says with a chuckle as he passes her by and goes right to Ella. “I see how it is.”

Erin takes her coat off and throws her keys down on the table. She coaxes Ella’s coat from her and hangs it up. Erin takes the rose and puts it in some water and then she takes Ella’s bags, as Ella’s too busy playing with Max, and brings them into the bedroom.

She comes back out and Ella is still saying hello to Max. “Share the love.” Erin goes and sits on the couch.

Ella senses that it’s time to switch who she’s loving upon. She goes over to the couch, to Erin, and sees that Erin has something in her hand. “What’s that?”

Erin looks down at her hand. “A present.”

“For?” Ella asks, standing in front of Erin.

“You.”

“For what?” Ella asks.

“Christmas.” Erin raises both eyebrows at Ella.

“Oh, right.” Ella looks around. “Where’s my bag?”

“In my room.” Erin shrugs.

Ella looks at Erin and smiles shyly. “Thank you.” She puts her hand on the back of the couch and bends down to press her lips to Erin’s. “I’ll be right back.” Ella runs away from Erin into the bedroom. She rummages around in her bag until she finds the present she bought for Erin. They agreed on getting each other something simple and not too expensive.

Erin is able to look into her bedroom from where she sits on the couch. She watches as Ella bends over her bag, pulling items out, searching for what she’s looking for. Erin licks her lips as Ella finds her present and stands up straight.

Ella catches Erin staring at her and wiggles her eyebrows at Erin. She walks back to the couch and situates herself in Erin’s lap. “Open my present first.” Ella holds the wrapped gift in between their bodies.

“Okay.” Erin nods. She sets her gift for Ella on the couch next to them and takes the gift from her and tears the wrapping paper off slowly. She looks into Ella’s eyes as she unwraps the gift. Once the paper is off Erin lifts the cover off the box. Erin looks down into the box. “Oh.” She smiles. “Ella. I was-“

“I know. You’ve been obsessing about that shirt for a few weeks now. You may have mentioned it once or twice or a dozen times.” Ella says, with a pleased smile, about the shirt that Erin’s had her eye on for some time now. “I listen.” Ella grins.

Erin snakes her hand around the back of Ella’s neck and pulls her in for a kiss. “Thank you. I love it.”

Ella grins, knowing she did well. “You’re welcome.”

“Now you.” Erin sets the shirt aside and grabs Ella’s present and hands it to her. The present is in a small wrapped box.

Ella pulls the wrapping off and opens the box. “Erin.” She gasps.

Erin grins. “You like it?”

“Erin, I can’t accept this.” Ella pulls the box to her face to get a closer look at the fancy watch that lies inside. “How much did this cost? It’s too expensive.”

Erin frowns. “I’ll be the judge of that.” She’s disappointed that Ella doesn’t want her present.

“But we agreed on simple gifts, nothing too expensive. Erin, this is too much.” Ella closes the box and hands the box back to Erin.

Erin sighs. “Ella, I want to you have this. This watch is a gift for you. I know that we agreed to keep it simple. But I couldn’t help it. I saw it and I had to get it for you cuz I knew it would be the perfect gift. You don’t have a nice watch, do you?”

Ella bows her head. “No.”

“See, there ya go.” Erin opens the box. “You have to keep it. Please.” She offers the watch back to Ella.

Ella sighs and takes Erin’s face in her hands and kisses her soundly. “Thank you.”

Erin gives Ella a lopsided grin. “My girl should have nice things.” She says with a little wink.

Ella rubs her thumbs over Erin’s cheeks, feeling like Erin is really the gift here. The greatest gift. “Will you put it on for me?” Ella asks timidly. She brings her hands away from Erin’s face and watches as Erin reaches for her wrist with one hand and takes the watch from the box with the other.

Erin slowly places the watch on Ella’s wrist and then clasps it together. She brings Ella’s hand to her lips and kisses the back of it. “Do you like it?” She asks again, not getting any answer before.

“Very much. It’s beautiful. It’s so nice though.” Ella looks from the watch to Erin. “Thank you.”

Erin nods. She closes the empty watch box. “Well, now that presents are open.” Erin pats her hands against Ella’s thighs. “I’m gonna get started on dinner. You wanna play with Max or take a nap or something. How were your flights? I didn’t even ask yet.”

“My flights were fine. I feel good. I don’t need a nap.” Ella says with a shrug.

“Okay then. I’m gonna start on dinner. I hope you’ll like it.” Erin says with a smile.

“I usually do. Do I get to know what you’re cooking?”

Erin puts her index finger to Ella’s lips. “It’s a secret.”

Ella pouts.

Erin kisses the pout off of Ella lips. “Up.” She pats at Ella’s sides.

Ella, reluctantly, gets off of Erin’s lap. Erin stands and goes over to the little kitchen in her apartment. Ella spots Max and picks him up. She wanders over to the table and sits down with Max on her lap. She pets Max behind his ears and watches as Erin starts dinner. Erin hums as she works and Ella thinks it’s super adorable. But after a few minutes, Ella’s mind kicks in on more than just the lovely dovey and she focuses on Erin.

She’s a little perplexed. Her- short- time with Erin so far has been good but something seems off with Erin. Ella would have thought that as soon as they got back to Erin’s apartment and opened presents or as soon as possible they would have ended up in the bedroom. Especially after nearly having Facetime sex the other day. Ella wonders why Erin is so focused on dinner and she would have thought Erin would have been more interested in other things.

Ella sits at the table and watches Erin cook for about ten minutes. It’s nice, peaceful. But Ella’s thoughts are starting to drive her crazy. She wonders if she did something wrong. She wonders why Erin has barely kisses her since she’s been here.

Ella sets Max down and gets up. She goes over to where Erin is standing at the stove and wraps her arms around Erin from behind. Ella nuzzles her nose against the back of Erin’s neck and then presses soft kisses to the spot.

Erin squirms. “Ella.” She tries to get out of Ella’s hold. “What are you doing? I’m cooking.”

Ella takes a step back away from Erin. “Did I do something wrong?” Ella huffs out in frustration.

Erin spins around. “What? No.”

“Then why don’t you wanna have anything to do with me?” Ella looks down at the floor.

Erin sighs. She knows she’s messed up. “No, Ella.” Erin steps forward and puts her hand on Ella’s forearm. “You didn’t do anything. It’s me. I’m in my own head.”

Ella looks up into Erin’s eyes. She sees an apology there in Erin’s eyes. “What going on?” Ella says softly.

“Tonight. The team is having a New Year’s Eve party. I have to make an appearance. I’ve been going back and forth. Whether I should ask you to come with me or not. Whether you would want to even go after what happened the last time we went out with the team. Or whether you just wanted to stay here with Max. I didn’t know what to do and I’ve been overanalyzing all day.” Erin explains her dilemma.

Ella smiles. Erin’s too cute sometimes. “You could’ve just talked to me about it.”

“Sorry.” Erin mumbles.

Ella wraps her arms around Erin’s neck and pulls their bodies together in an embrace. Erin wraps Ella up and sighs in relief. “So?” She asks.

Ella pulls back from the hug but doesn’t remove her hands from around the back of Erin’s neck. “You want me to make the decision for you.” Ella chuckles.

“I mean-“ Erin shrugs. “-I don’t want to put you in an uncomfortable situation.”

Ella nods. “Okay. You have to make an appearance?” She asks and Erin nods her head. “But you don’t have to be there the whole time or stay the whole time?” Erin nods again. “I think I can do that then.”

“So, you’ll come with me?” Erin asks to make sure she understands what Ella’s is saying.

“Yeah, what time’s this start?”

“Seven, I think. But, we don’t have to go right at seven and we don’t have to stay til the end. God, that will be after midnight.” Erin doesn’t think she could do that anyway.

“Okay. You finish dinner. I’m gonna take a shower now that I know that we are going out.”

Erin smiles. She relieved that Ella is so willing to do this for her. Ella could have taken this far worse than she did. But Erin thinks she lucky. She lucky she’s got such a supportive, understanding girlfriend. “I love you.” She says and pulls them back together so she can kiss Ella.

Ella smiles into the kiss. “I love you, too, Erin.” She feels better, like they are back on the same page on and hopefully everything will run smoothly the rest of the night. “Finish our dinner.” Ella squeezes Erin’s shoulder before walking away from her.

* * *

 

They show up at the party at around 8:30 and Erin goes to get them drinks right away while Ella finds a table.

“Ella.” Emily waves her over. “You guys can sit with us.” She says when Ella approaches.

“Thanks, Em. So how’s the party so far?”

“Great.” Emily lifts her glass in the air.

Ella laughs.

“When’d you get in?” Emily asks.

“This afternoon.”

“Wow.” Sophie enters the conversation. “And you’re out and about.”

Emily laughs. “Soph’s not much good of a traveler. She always needs at least a day to acclimate to a new time zone before she can do anything.” Emily says with a slight slur.

Sophie rolls her eyes.

“Well, I don’t really life flying. But, it was worth it.” Ella admits.

Emily laughs. “Oh my god, that’s right.”

“Shut up, you.” Ella glares at her.

“It’s not that I’m afraid. It’s just that I don’t like it. I always need a distraction. But it’s gotten better over the years.” She tells Sophie.

“What’s wrong with her?” Erin asks as she comes over and sees Emily in hysterics.

“Ella- hates- flying.” Emily says between laughing.

“How much have you had to drink?” Erin questions.

Emily just laughs some more.

“Just water for her.” Erin points at Emily and makes eye contact with Ella and Sophie. They both nod in agreement. Erin puts Ella’s drink down in front of her. She leans in and whispers in Ella’s ear. “I’m gonna go talk with a few people. Will you be alright here?” Ella nods. “Okay. I’ll be back.” Erin says and presses a kiss to Ella’s temple.

Ella bows her head but smiles shyly.

“I’m gonna go talk to the DJ.” Emily says once her laughing fit finally dies off.

“There’s a DJ?” Ella starts looking around trying to spot him.

Emily gets up and leaves and Ella is left at the table with Sophie. “Over there.” Sophie points to the corner where the DJ is. Ella sees the DJ except the DJ isn’t a guy.

“Oh.” Ella mumbles.

Sophie laughs. “She started setting up around eight. Music should begin soon.”

“Cool.” Ella is not sure what to say or what to talk about.

“Sooo-“ They both say at the same time.

Ella looks over at Sophie and they both laugh. “It’s been a while.” Ella says finally.

Sophie nods. “Yeah. So, how are you? I’d ask what you’ve been up to since I saw you last but I already know.”

Ella wrinkles up her face. “What?”

Sophie laughs. Music starts up and becomes harder to hear. Sophie nods her head in Erin’s direction. Ella looks over and smiles when she sees Erin laughing with her teammates. “Yeah.” Ella mumbles vague.

“How long you guys been together? If you don’t mind me asking.” Sophie brings the conversation back.

“Officially. A little less than two months. Unofficially, since like- I don’t know- June, July.” Ella tells her old friend.

Sophie nods. “I have to say- I was shocked- when I first found out- when Erin first told me who her new girlfriend was. Back- back in our MagicJack days-“ Sophie stops and looks around the room. “-you’re a good person, Ella. You always have been. But-“ She smiles. “-you’re not the same person you were back then. You look great.”

“I feel great.” Ella interrupts.

“Yeah, I can see that. I feel like there’s a different vibe coming from you. Just sitting with you now- you seem good.”

“I am good. Great, even. I haven’t felt this good since my college days. Woah, that’s crazy.” The realization hits Ella. “I haven’t thought of that. Wow.” She feels optimistic and youthful and like a kid again like she did in college.

Sophie chuckles. “That’s good.”

“You could say I’ve been on quite the journey in the last six months.” Ella says.

Sophie nods. The Ella that sits before her isn’t the Ella that she knew at MagicJack. This Ella a different person. A more well-rounded and put together person. A better, new and improved Ella.

Emily comes back to the table and pulls Ella out of her seat. Ella looks over her shoulder and Sophie and mouths a sorry. Emily drags Ella out onto the little dancefloor. Now that the music is going the room is more lively. Some are up dancing but most are still in conversation. Emily pulls Ella to the middle of the dance floor and starts dancing.

Ella follows Emily’s lead. It reminds her of all the times back in college when they would go out and go dancing. They dance happily together to a couple of songs.

Emily leans into Ella and whisper-yells over the music. “I’m so happy that you are here and having fun.”

Ella nods and smiles. “Me too.”

A few more songs go by before the DJ puts on the first slow song of the night. Emily looks at Ella curiously and holds out her hands for Ella to take in a slow dance. Ella shrugs. “What the hell?” She mumbles, shrugs, and locks on to Emily.

It’s not long into their slow dance that Emily feels a tap on her shoulder. She wrinkles up and brow at Ella but Ella isn’t paying any attention to Emily anymore. Her eyes are focused on the person standing behind Emily. Emily looks over her shoulder and spots Erin. “Ohhh.” It all makes sense to Emily now. “Of course.” She releases Ella and takes a step back.

Erin steps into Emily’s place, taking hold of Ella and starting their own slow dance. Ella blushes and looks down at their feet. It was okay when she was slow dancing with Emily but now that Erin has coming over and taken the lead Ella feels shy and nervous.

“Hey.” Erin says over the music. “Look at me.” She requests softly.

Ella raises her head slowly and sees the gentle smile on Erin’s face and the soft, calming eyes of Erin’s that have everything else around them melting away. “How are you?” Erin asks, checking in with Ella.

“Better now.” Ella was nervous when Erin came over but now Erin has calmed those nerves. Ella stares into Erin’s eyes.

“Good. This is a safe place.” Erin reminds Ella.

Ella nods. She tightens her grip on Erin as Erin spins them around in slow circles. Ella’s feelings change. She knows that everyone in the room can see them but she has put that out of her mind. She also knows that there is nothing to be nervous about. Ella smiles and then lays her head on Erin’s shoulder as they dance. She sighs, feeling happy and content with how the evening is going. It’s good to feel like she can do whatever she wants and just be herself around Erin’s teammates.

* * *

 

The New Year’s party was fun but Erin wasn’t really feeling it and had other plans as to how she wanted to end her year. Erin collected Ella and her things around ten and they left to go back to Erin’s place. With Erin being preoccupied with the whole party things she wasn’t able to really relax and enjoy the fact that Ella was with her again. Now that the party is past her, Erin can completely indulge her thoughts and feelings. That includes getting Ella out of her clothes and getting that physically connection back between them.

\---------

Ella lays on her back staring up at the ceiling. Erin lays with Ella her left arm and left leg draped lazy over Ella’s body, the side of her face presses to Ella’s collarbone. Ella runs her fingers through Erin hair. “Am I good enough?” Ella asks quietly.

Erin feels like the question comes out of the blue. She also doesn’t understand what Ella is referring to. Erin lifts her head off of Ella’s chest with a raised eyebrow. The question is concerning.

“Ella.” Erin sighs. “I could say that you’re more than good enough but I’d like to know what you are talking about.”

“Am I good enough?” Ella whispers, feeling a little bashful.

Erin still doesn’t understand. “Can you not talk in Ella code?” Erin asks gently. She’s starting to get actually concerned about what Ella is referring to. It could be so many things. And knowing that Ella speaks in code doesn’t help the situation.

Ella bites her lip. Her face gets all red. She points at their current positions in bed.

Erin looks down at their naked bodies before returning her eyes to Ella’s. She gets it now. Erin shifts over so that she is laying next to Ella. She tucks her elbows under her chest and leans up to look at Ella. Erin thinks about what she wants to say. She knows this is an important moment. Comedy and jokes would be great right now. To have a little fun at Ella’s expensive, but Erin knows that won’t get her anywhere.

“Ella.” She bites her lip. “Why are you asking me this?”

Ella looks away from Erin. “I mean- I’m not like- I don’t have-“

“Experience.” Erin fills in for her.

“Yeah. That.” Ella mumbles.

Erin reaches up and puts her palm on Ella’s cheek and turns her head so their eyes can meet again. “Don’t worry about it.” Erin says in a calm tone.

“But- how- can I not?” Ella questions awkwardly.

Erin sighs sadly. She didn’t know this was a concern of Ella’s. She would have never thought. “Ella, I love you.” Erin starts by saying. “And that’s more important than experience or anything like that. I’m not going to compare you to anyone else as far as experience or performance in the bedroom. That’s not fair. We both now the situation here. You know it. I’m not going to say one way or another. I love you and that’s the most important thing. I love you and we have great chemistry. I love you and we will grow and learn and experience together. It’s different with everybody. And it’s not just you or just me. Together. It takes two to tango. Okay?”

Ella nods. “Yeah.” She says softly feeling a little better. The more she thinks about it the more Erin has a point. She has the right approach. Ella knows she shouldn’t worry so much but she wants to be everything and do everything that she can for Erin.

“Good.” Erin leans up for a quick kiss. “Now I need me some cuddles.” She says in a cute voice with a sassy grin.

Ella can definitely do that. She rolls onto her side, into Erin’s body. Ella let’s Erin turn to face her and then wraps her arms around Erin and pulls her to her chest. “I love you.” Ella makes sure to tell Erin.

Erin presses her lips to Ella’s neck. “I love you, so very much, babe.” Erin whispers and soaks up the feeling of Ella holding her securely and wrapping her up tightly, safely.

The clock in the living room chimes midnight as they lay in bed together. “Happy New Year, Ella.” Erin whispers sleepily.

“Happy New Year.” Ella mumbles back. She thinks about the last year of her life and how crazy it’s been. It seems like every year is crazy with it’s up and downs but that this last year has been just as crazy, if not more. Ella looks forward to the year to come. She doesn’t know how it’s going to play out but she feels optimistic about it. “Goodnight, honey.”

“Goodnight, beautiful.” Erin is barely able to say before she falls asleep.


	27. Chapter 27

Erin’s phone rings and she looks at it to see that it’s her agent calling. Her first thought is that she wonders what this could be about. A possible speaking engagement, or a photoshoot or sponsor, she thinks. Erin picks up the call. “Hello, Ted.”

“Hi, Erin. How is your morning going?” Ted starts out politely.

“Good. Yourself?”

“Very good. The reason I’m calling is rather interesting. Well, I think it’s rather interesting.” Ted tells Erin.

“Do tell more, Teddy.” Erin jokes.

Ted chuckles. “This morning I received a call from Randy Waldrum. Do you know who that is?”

Erin thinks on it. The name sounds familiar but Erin can’t place it. “Not really.” Erin shrugs.

“Randy Waldrum is the coach of the NWSL’s newest team the Houston Dash.” Ted fills in the blanks.

“Oh.” Erin knows of the sort of things that can come from this.

“Erin, The Dash are interested in you.” Ted says flat out. “Randy would like to set up a phone call with you. He and the general manager want talk to you. Would you be up to that?” Ted asks. He’s not going to set up something that Erin doesn’t want to do.

“Sure.” Erin doesn’t see why not. She wants to know what they want and are offering. She wants to know the possibilities. She is interested in the workings of a new team, a new organization. It can’t hurt anything.

Later that morning, Erin has a phone conversation with Randy and Brian. She listens to what they have to say and what they are offering. They want her to be the leader of their new team. They want her to be the anchor, the experience. Erin tells them she’ll have to think about it and that she will get back to them within 24 hours. She phones her agent to tell him how it went and then makes, potentially, the most important phone call of all.

The phone rings and rings but no one answers. Erin leaves a voicemail. “Call me back as soon as possible.” Usually Erin doesn’t leave a voicemail. If she calls and there is no answer she’ll just wait until Ella calls her back. If it’s something she needs to tell her right away she’ll send a text. But voicemails between the two are rare and usually mean that it’s urgent or an emergency. They both know this unspoken code and follow it perfectly.

Erin sits at the table in her kitchen bouncing her leg nervously as she waits for Ella to call her back. She really needs to talk about this to someone. She really needs to talk about this with Ella. The thing is, Ella went for her morning workout and she could be busy for an hour or more yet. Erin knows this but that doesn’t help the situation any. She starts pacing her apartment as she does she thinks of the options that she has.

Erin stops when she spots Max sleeping on his doggy bed. “Maxwell.” She says loudly, startling the poor pup. Erin picks him up. “We’re going for a walk.” Erin puts a coat on Max before putting one on herself and then getting his leash. “Let’s go.” Erin feels like she is going to go crazy if she stays in one place for too long. She makes sure that she brings her phone and they head out for a walk.

* * *

 

Ella checks her phone after her workout and sees that she has a voicemail from Erin. She doesn’t even bother listening to the voicemail but immediately calls Erin.

They don’t bother with hellos.

“What are you doing?” Erin asks as she answers the phone.

“What’s wrong?” Ella says in return, concern in her voice.

Erin’s lips curl into a smile. “Nothing’s wrong.” Ella relaxes a little bit. “When are you going to be home?” Is Erin’s next question.

Ella smiles and thinks ‘home’. “I have to shower and change and then I’ll be on my way. Why? What’s going on?”

“Skip the shower.” Erin advises.

Ella makes a disgusted face. “But, I’m all stinky and gross.”

“I don’t care.” Erin shrugs even though Ella can’t see her. “I need to talk to you about something.”

Ella refocuses, forgetting about the shower. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Erin paces back and forth as she waits for Ella to get home. Max looks up and watches Erin trying to figure out what’s wrong with his mommy. Erin just keeps pacing. That is, until she hears the key in the lock. She stops and looks over at the door.

Ella comes rushing in through the door and stops when she sees Erin standing there staring at her. “What’s going on?” The alarm is evident in Ella’s voice.

“I need to talk to you about something.” Erin mumbles.

Ella already knew that. “Alright.” She puts her gym bag down and closes the door.

Erin goes over and sits on the couch. Ella follows her and sits down next to Erin, facing her. “Erin, you’re kinda freaking me out here.”

“Sorry.” Erin bows her head and takes a deep breath before starting. “You know that there is a new NWSL team.”

Ella’s heard about it. “Yeah, Houston.”

Erin nods. “A little while ago I got a phone call.”

Ella’s heart immediately sinks. She knows where this is going. She knows what Erin is going to say. And Ella doesn’t want to hear it. She gets up and walks away from Erin. Ella goes into the bedroom and flops down on the bed face first. She tries to stop her brain from running away from her but the harder she tries the further it goes. The offseason is more than half over. They’ve weathered the storm, so to speak, so far. They’re together and they were supposed to be together in Chicago at the beginning of the new season. It was all laid out for them. It was perfect. And now this. Erin is going to Houston. That’s not how it was supposed to work out. Ella thinks of how unfair it all is; how unfair her life is. She tries desperately not to cry.

Erin comes into the bedroom and kneels on the floor next to the bed right by where Ella’s head is. She puts her hand on Ella’s shoulder. “Here me out. I’ve been thinking.” Erin doesn’t get a response from Ella. Ella won’t look at her and she won’t say anything or move a muscle. She keeps her face buried in the pillow despite how hard it is to breathe. “I know Chicago is more or less your home. And I know you want to play this season. And I know that you want us to be in the same city. I know all that.” Erin squeezes her hand against Ella’s shoulder. “But- what if there were a way that could happen. Just maybe in a different city.”

At that, Ella turns her head to the right to look at Erin. “What do you mean?” Ella asks weakly.

Erin shrugs. “Well, I mean Houston called me today and they want me to play for them. They want me as their goalkeeper. They want me as the leader of this new team that they are starting.” Erin explains.

Ella smiles weakly. “That’s great, Erin. For you. But I don’t get it. You’ll be in Houston and I’ll be in Chicago.”

Erin presses her lips together. “Well, like I said, I’ve been thinking. Ella, I think I want to do this but I also want you with me. I don’t want to do this alone.”

“But how?” Ella asks, nearly whining.

“I’ll talk to my agent. Maybe he can work up a deal. For me… And for you. For both of us.” Erin tells Ella with a timid smile.

Ella pushes herself up onto her elbows. “Really?” She asks, dumbfounded. This is all so much, so suddenly.

Erin nods. “I can call him back right now. What do you say we go to Houston?” Erin’s smile blooms fully. “A new start with a new team. I know you weren’t completely happy with Chicago. Ella, what do you say? It’s up to you. I want your honest opinion. I won’t do this without you. I won’t do this unless you are on board. If you don’t want to leave Chicago, I’ll decline the offer.” Erin lays it all out there.

Ella sighs. “Erin, you can’t do that. This is your career we are talking about here. This is a great opportunity for you. You could really do great things.” Ella doesn’t want to hold Erin back in any way.

Erin nods. “You’re right about that. But you know what’s more important to me than my career?” Ella bites her lip and shakes her head. “My happiness. Your happiness. I won’t be happy without you.”

Ella sighs happily. “I love you.” She leans over for a much needed kiss.

“I love you too.” Erin says after. “I know this is all spur of the moment but I told them that I would come to a decision in the next 24 hours. I can give you some time to think about it but I need an answer by the end of the day.” Erin kisses Ella on the forehead and stands up.

“Kay.” Ella watches Erin as Erin stands there looking down at her for a moment before leaving the room. She leaves Ella with her thoughts.

Ella thinks about her options for a moment. Chicago or Houston. This is a big decision. She knows that. It’s a decision that could shape the next year or more of her life. And it’s a decision that shouldn’t be made lightly. But Ella knows what she wants to do. Yes, Chicago is her home. It has been her home. But maybe a fresh start could be good.

“Erin.” Ella says coming out of the bedroom a few minutes later.

Erin looks over at her favorite girl. “Yes.”

“Let’s do it.” Ella grins.

“Really?” Erin asks.

“Really.” Ella goes over and wraps her arms around Erin and cuddles into her chest. “Let’s do it. Call your agent. Give him my agent’s number.”

“Maybe we should have the same agent.” Erin suggests.

Ella laughs. Of course Erin would think of something like that right now. “Let’s just see what happens first. Let’s see what happens with this.” Ella’s nervous. She doesn’t know if this is going to work out. She doesn’t know how they are both going to get to Houston. She doesn’t even know how Houston plans on getting Erin. But that’s not for her to really worry about. That’s why they have agents.

“Okay. I’ll make the call. You wanna stick around?” Erin asks. Ella nods. “Good. Let’s do this.” Erin kisses the top of Ella’s head.

Erin gets her phone and calls her agent right away. She tells him what she wants. That she wants to go to Houston but only if Ella is going to Houston. And to not make it obvious that that’s what she wants but to get a hold of Ella’s agent. She tells her agent that they need to figure out a way to get them both to Houston or Erin won’t accept the offer. Ted says he’ll talk to Houston and Chicago and Ella’s agent and see what he can come up with.

* * *

 

The next day Erin gets a call from her agent while she has a break during training. Ted starts by telling Erin about the expansion draft that is coming up at the end of the week. “Houston is willing to make a trade with Chicago for Erin and they are just willing to agree but it sounds like a go. I talked to Ella’s agent and he talked to Chicago and told them that Ella wants to go unprotected in the expansion draft. That way Houston can pick her up in the draft. He is trying to get Houston to set it in stone but it’s not a guarantee that Ella can get to Houston right now. It sounds like a very high likelihood but you know how things happen sometimes.” Her agent explains the trade as it stands right now.

Erin doesn’t think it can get much better or easier than that. So she excepts the deal right then and there.

In the afternoon, Ella speaks with her agent and he tells her that Chicago has agreed to leave her unprotected and that Houston says they will pick up and that Houston just has to stay true to their word. But cautions that nothing is a hundred percent guarantee.

Ella goes back to Erin’s place to wait for her to get home. She plays with Max for a little bit before going into the bedroom to lay down. Max comes in and hops up on the bed with her. “Naptime.” She kisses the pup on the head.

That’s how Erin finds them. She stands at the end of the bed with her hands on her hips. “I thought I told you I didn’t want him on the bed.” Erin says loudly. Loud enough to wake Ella from her nap.

“Hi, babe, it’s so nice to see you are home.” Ella flashes an innocent smile.

Erin rolls her eyes.

“We were having a celebratory nap.” Ella offers with a different kind of smile. More of a wicked grin.

Erin bites the smile that comes to her lips. She climbs onto the bed with them. “So you heard?” She asks hovering over Ella. “I accepted the offer.”

“I did.” Ella kisses Erin. “We’re going to Houston.”

“Max.” Erin points to the bedroom door. “Go lay down.” She tells the dog. He looks at Erin with a sad face. “Go.” She says with finality. He hops off the bed and goes to lay in his doggy bed in the other room.

“Why’d you do that?” Ella whines. “Max wasn’t doing anything wrong.”

Erin grins devilishly. “Cuz I want to have a little celebratory event of my own.”

Ella scrunches up her face in confusion. “What?” She asks. Erin smirks and starts to lean in for a kiss. “Oh.” Ella mumbles just before their lips touch.

* * *

 

Erin is on the phone with her agent, Ted, again. Ella is in the room and Erin puts the call on speakerphone.

“I’ve just gotten confirmation that the trade has been finalized and is going to be announced at the top of the hour.” Ted tells them.

“Wow.” Erin is a little surprised with the quickness of everything but it always goes that way. “So, do you know? Can I ask who’s being traded?”

Ted chuckles uncomfortably and Erin and Ella share a look at the awkwardness that has popped into the conversation suddenly. Ted has worked with Erin a long time, for many years. He knows just about everything there is to know about Erin and that includes her relationships.

“Melissa.” It’s all he needs to say.

Erin’s eyes go wide. “Woah.”

She knew Mel was allocated to Houston. It was brought up at camp. But, it’s a bit eerie, or ironic, whichever way you want to look at it that Melissa is the one being traded. Erin looks over at Ella and Ella stands there with her mouth hanging open, the shock apparent.

Ella doesn’t need to listen to this conversation anymore. She walks away from Erin and goes to play with Max on the over side of the room. Ella doesn’t go far though and she ends up listening to the rest of the call while she plays with Max.

Erin gets off the phone and goes over and sits down next to Ella and Max. “Crazy, huh?” She asks.

“Yeah.” Ella huffs in response.

“Why so crabby?” Erin puts her hand on Ella’s thigh.

Ella sighs. “I’m not. I’m just- ya know what- nevermind.” Ella clams up. She feels stupid and doesn’t want to share that with Erin.

Erin, on the other hand, wants to know what Ella is thinking and feeling. She thinks she knows how to get it out of Ella. She scoots closer to Ella so they are side by side and rest her head on Ella’s shoulder, cuddling up next to her. “Tell me.” She requests.

“It’s stupid.” Ella mumbles feeling embarrassed.

Erin smiles. “I’ll be the judge of that.” She jokes.

“Of all people, Melissa.” Ella lets it out. “I mean- whatever, but her.” Her words have an unsavory bite to them.

Erin pulls away from Ella. She doesn’t know if she likes this Ella. “It’s just a trade. Why are you being so petty about this? Actually, it really has nothing to do with you.” Erin points out.

Ella whips her head to the side quickly to look at Erin. “Doesn’t it though?”

Erin shakes her head and folds her arms over her chest. “No.”

Ella looks away. “Fine.” She resumes petting Max and won’t look at Erin anymore. “It just bothers me, that’s all. It’s all about you and her.” Ella says, probably harsher than intended.

Erin stares at the side of Ella’s face for a few seconds. At first, angry with what Ella just said. But, then the lightbulb clicks in Erin’s head. “Are you jealous?” She asks.

Ella turns, slowly, and looks over at Erin like she has three heads. “What? No.” She says and rolls her eyes.

“Oh my god. You are.” Erin says with a chuckle.

Ella sighs. Erin’s probably right. She knows that Erin is right now that she has put a name on what it is that she is feeling. “It’s just- you’re at camp every day and I know you see each other and talk and stuff. You’re on the same team. I just- I said it was stupid. You and the team- you all are like best friends and everyone is so close and I just thought- But, maybe it’s better this way. You won’t both be playing in Houston.” Ella rambles.

Erin would laugh if Ella didn’t sound so jealous and desperate. She stops Ella. “Ella, I love you. You have nothing to worry about. It’s you and me and no one else. I think I’ve talked to Melissa once since we’ve been in camp.” Erin wraps her arm around Ella.

Ella shrugs. Partially trying to shrug Erin’s arm off of her shoulders and partially just shrugging because. “Yeah, but when you and I- started- you were still sort of with- with her.”

Erin can see where Ella’s concern comes from. “You have nothing to worry about. That’s long over. Ella, I fucking love you to pieces. Sure, me and Mel were together and we were together for a good amount of time. And we were in love and at one point that was great, but it didn’t last. There was something missing. It just wasn’t working. I don’t think either one of us wanted to admit it, but it wasn’t working anymore. And, yeah, I did a bad thing, but I don’t regret it. I regret hurting her cause she’s a good person, but that’s about it. Me and you Ella, it’s different. I’ve tried to make that clear. But maybe I’m not doing a good enough job of it. Are you not happy? Are you not satisfied with us? What do I need to do differently?” Erin starts second guessing everything she’s been doing. “I thought this was going well.”

Erin starts to get upset and Ella can see that. Ella turns to Erin and holds her face in her hands. “You are doing fine. Don’t worry, honey. I told you this was stupid. It has more to do with me than with you or Melissa. Really, it’s my own things that I have to come to terms with and get over. You are perfect.” Ella kisses Erin for some reassurance.

Erin smiles timidly. “Nobody’s perfect.”

Ella says “Well, you’re pretty damn close.”

Erin bites her lip. “Thank you.”

Ella chuckles. “You Canadians, always so polite.” Erin looks away from Ella bashfully and shrugs. “I love you, Erin. And thank you.” Ella says lightly.

That brings Erin’s face, eyes back to Ella. “I love you, too, babe.” Erin seals her words with a kiss.

“What if, though?” Erin smirks.

“What if, what?” Ella asks with scrunched up eyebrows.

“What if the three of us all played in Houston together?” Erin asks sassily.

She gets a slap on the arm from Ella. “Funny.” Ella rolls her eyes. “Do you think that would really work? Hell, we can’t all even have drinks at the same place.” She refers to the little incident from early December. “Being on the same team. Both of us being forwards, yeah right.” Ella scoffs off the idea.

Erin pulls Ella into her side. “You’re probably right. But what if- like- you got along?”

“Just stop.” Ella advises.

Erin chuckles. “Okay.” She presses a kiss to Ella’s temple.

“Erin?” Ella thinks of something.

“Yeah.” Erin hums.

“Did we just have our first fight?”

Erin hums. “I don’t know.” She doesn’t really think it was a fight but it sort of was. An argument, a disagreement, yes. A fight, not so much. “If so, it was pretty wimpy.” Erin jokes.

Ella chuckles. “Yeah, okay. And I’m sorry I got so bent out of shape.”

In Erin’s mind, Ella’s jealousy and feistiness is just a sign that Ella is in this relationship for the long haul. That she’s invested and wants it to work. It means Ella cares and really loves her and is willing to fight for that. “It’s alright.” Erin hums and relaxes into Ella’s side, content to just sit there for a while.

* * *

 

Erin is making lunch for them. She’s put some music on lowly in the background. Erin’s not sure what Ella is doing but she’s doing something in the bedroom.

Erin hums along to the music as she prepares the meal. She catches Ella coming out of the bedroom and looks over to see Ella holding her phone out.

“What’s that?” Erin questions.

Ella comes closer so Erin can see the phone screen. “The world knows.” Ella says.

Knowing that means that the trade was announced publicly. “Well, the world that pays attention to women’s soccer.” Erin nods. “Houston, here I come.” She says with a delighted smile.

Ella puts her phone down and wraps her arm around Erin. “Here we come.” She says optimistically.

“Houston, here we come.” Erin revises her statement. She kisses Ella and goes back to cooking lunch.

“Do you have any paper?” Ella asks.

Erin thinks it’s a rather random question. “Yeah, why?”

“Where’s it at?” Ella asks.

“In the living room, inside the stand that the tv is on.” Erin says as she stirs her pot. She wonders what Ella is up to.

Ella goes over and get a notebook out. “And a pen?”

“Over here.” Erin points to a drawer to her left. She watches out of the corner of her eye as Ella comes over with her paper and picks a pen out of the drawer.

Ella goes over to the little table, and sits down, and starts writing furiously. She writes and stops, and thinks, and scratches things out, and rewrites. It doesn’t take more than five minutes before Ella is finished. She holds the paper and arm’s length and reads over what she wrote. “Good.” She mumbles and stands.

Ella returns the pen and then the paper to their rightful homes.

“Ella?” Erin asks, getting the girl’s attention.

“Yeah.”

“What’s that?” Erin nods in her direction, asking about the piece of paper in Ella’s right hand.

“My statement.” Ella says and walks into the bedroom.

Erin smiles. She’s excited. Nothing’s official yet when it comes to Ella but she can see the excitement in Ella about this new opportunity. The expansion draft is still a couple of days away but Ella already has her statement ready for when she leaves Chicago.

* * *

 

Ella and Erin are having a late lunch when Ella’s phone starts blowing up. She takes a look, already knowing why. Erin asks simply. “Houston?”

Ella looks at her phone and sees the text messages coming in inquiring about her going to Houston. “Yep.” Ella nods. She sets her phone down and lets whatever messages come in, come in. She’s not too concerned about replies right now. She knows some will be from her family, some from her Chicago teammates, and some from other friends in soccer. The only message that Ella opens and reads is the one from her agent.

**Congrats. 5th pick expansion draft.** The message reads.

That’s what they had planned to happen so no surprises. Houston had the draft order and they gave Ella word that she would be the pick when they got to Chicago. It was just a matter of it actually happening. Ella would be lying is she said she wasn’t nervous. Everything had to happen correctly. There is always the possibility of something changing or something crazy happening. So, yeah, Ella was a little nervous.

Ella sits back and relaxes in her chair and smiles across the table at Erin. The relief washes off of her. Erin can see it as it happens. Erin reaches for her glass and lift her water into the air. She waits for Ella to do the same, though, with less enthusiasm. “Here’s to Houston. Here’s to the future. A new adventure. Here’s to you and me.” Erin cheers and clinks their glasses together. Ella just grins like an idiot before taking a drink from her water glass.


	28. Chapter 28

Ella gets out of her seat and takes her Peau De Loup hat off and sets it on the desk. “Really, Carm? The elephant in the room. I just about had a heart attack.”

“What?” Carm shrugs.

“And then you go into all that Canada stuff.” Ella continues.

“The fans wanted to know.” Carm grins devilishly. “Any Canadian in you?” She gives Ella a suggestive look and wiggles her eyebrows and then looks over at Erin in the same manner.

Erin rolls her eyes. “Knock it off.”

“What?” Ella doesn’t understand. “I don’t have any Canadian relatives.” Thinking that’s what they are still talking about.

“Carm’s trying to be funny. That’s not what she’s talking about.” Erin narrows her eyes at Carm.

Ella thinks everything over. “Carm.” Ella squawks. Her face gets beet red and she looks down at the floor.

Carm laughs and walks past the two of them into the other room. “I’m not wrong though.” Carm goes into the kitchen and over to Erin’s fridge and opens it up. “You got anything good to eat in here.” She yells back towards the bedroom.

“Stay away from my food.” Erin yells. “Hey.” She approaches a red and embarrassed Ella. “Never mind Carm. She’s just joking. Like she always does. She doesn’t mean anything malicious by it.”

“I know that.” Ella looks up. “It’s just- I never- never mind.” Ella sighs.

Erin wraps her hand around Ella’s bicep. “Tell me.” She requests softly. “What are you thinking? Feeling?”

Ella doesn’t know how she can’t not tell Erin when Erin cares and respects her thoughts and feelings so much. “It’s weird. Having someone make jokes about- it’s never something I’ve experienced before.”

Erin pulls Ella into a hug. “What are friends for?” She makes a joke of her own. “Let’s go see if she’s eating me out of house and home.” She makes a joke at Carm’s expense.

Ella nods. “We’ll have to put that video up soon though.”

“Sure thing, babe.” Erin says and finds Ella’s hand, pulling her behind herself to go see what Carm is up to.

Carm is sitting on the couch watching tv with a sandwich in her hand. “Ya know, you passed on quite a few questions McLeod.” Carm picks up the conversation again.

“I did not.” Erin comes over and stands in front of Carm. She puts her hands on her hips and stares Carm down.

“Sure ya did.” Carm shrugs, unbothered by the daggers that Erin is shooting at her. “A question that you asked, even. What’s up with that?”

Erin wrinkles up her face. “Huh?”

Carm takes a bite of her sandwich and Erin waits. She looks to her left at Ella. Ella shrugs and nods in Carm’s direction. Carm finishes chewing. “How do you still put up with Ms. Masar?” Carm raises an eyebrow at Erin and then looks over at Ella with the same expression on her face.

“What was I supposed to say?” Erin asks back.

“I don’t know.” Carm shakes her head. “But, you’re the one who asked the question yet I’m the one who answered it.” Carm smirks triumphantly.

Carm takes the final bite of her sandwich. “Leave Erin alone.” Ella says to Carm and goes to sit down on the couch next to her.

Erin rolls her eyes. “Whatever.” She knows Carm is just being difficult.

Carm laughs. “You two.” She wipes her hands on her pants. “So what are we doing the rest of the day.” She looks to Erin and then to Ella. “Ah, you guys aren’t going to kick me out, are you?” Carm pouts.

“No.” Ella says. “But we have to put that video up.”

“Oh, I can help with that.” Carm offers.

“You didn’t even know if the camera was on or not.” Ella deadpans.

Erin laughs. “You didn’t.”

Carm frowns. “Fine, maybe I’m not that tech savvy. I’ll let you take care of that. Let me know when you’re done. We can watch movies or something.”

Ella chuckles. “Oh, Carm. You and technology don’t get along, do you?”

Carm keeps her focus on the tv. “Not really. But, I’m trying to get better.”

Ella pats Carm’s thigh. “It’s okay. I got this.” Ella says confidently and stands up. She walks away from Carm. “Come on.” Ella says to Erin.

Erin follows Ella back into the bedroom. “Don’t eat any more of my food.” Erin warns Carm.

“I’m good now, buddy. No worries.” Carm says with a laugh.

* * *

 

“I don’t want to go back to Denver.” Ella pouts the night before her flight. She’s lays on her side in bed with Erin and Max.

Erin has Max on her chest and she’s teasing and playing with him as they talk. Erin hums in response and lifts Max into the air over her head.

Ella frowns. “Are you even listening?” She huffs.

Erin brings Max back down to her chest when she hears the tone of Ella’s voice. Erin then puts Max down next to her upper body, between her and Ella. She turns onto her side so that she’s facing Ella. “I’m listening. You don’t want to leave.” Erin puts her hand on Ella’s hip.

Max curls up to take a nap between them. Ella focuses in on the little dog and sighs. It feels so good to be in Vancouver with Erin and Max. It feels good in a way that Ella doesn’t think she’s ever felt before. It’s not like a vacation. And it’s not like visit. Even though it is. To Ella, it feels like it’s where she belongs.

“I don’t want to leave.” Ella says again.

“And I don’t want you to leave.” Erin smiles softly. “But, just look at it this way. You’ll be back in a few weeks, right?” They’ve already planned Ella’s next trip to Vancouver for mid-February. “And a few weeks after that we’ll be in Houston.” They still have to figure out Houston but they have time.

“I know but-“ Ella sighs. “I’m gonna miss you.” She pouts. This whole being in love thing has Ella acting all sorts of ways that she’s never acted before. It kind of scares her a little.

Erin chuckles. “I’ll miss you too. Of course.”

“And Maxwell.” Ella grins. Her and Max have gotten closer. And with Ella being around for nearly two weeks this time, they have only gotten closer.

“I’m sure he’ll miss you too.” Erin puts her hand on Max’s back. “He’ll miss his morning walking partner.”

Ella has taken it upon herself to take Max for his morning walks. Just the two of them most days. She lets Erin sleep in a little longer. Or when Erin has early training, Ella will take Max out after she’s gone, that way Erin doesn’t have to do it super early.

Ella scratches Max behind the ears. He smiles in his sleep.

“Let’s not think about all that. Let’s think about the here and now. And enjoy our last night together for a while.” Erin leans into Ella, careful not to squish Max, and kisses Ella softly.

“I like the way you think.” Ella whispers. She puts her hand on Erin’s cheek and kisses Erin deeply.

* * *

 

“So, I got an email from Houston about housing today.” Erin mentions to Ella during their Facetime conversation in early February. It’s just one of the many topics that Erin wants to talk with Ella about.

“Yeah.” Ella smiles. “Me too.” She’s excited about going to Houston and getting things started there. Ella can’t wait. She counting down the days. “I can’t wait for the season to start. Even the pre-season. I’m so pumped.”

Erin just smiles at Ella’s excitement, thinking it’s absolutely adorable. “Yeah, pre-season.” Erin sighs. She knows she going to miss a portion of pre-season and it’s a bit disappointing to think that she’s going to miss Ella’s excitement firsthand.

“I don’t know if you’ve put any thought into it but-“

“Into what?” Ella asks, forgetting what they are talking about.

“Housing, Ella. Try to keep up.” Erin teases.

Ella rolls her eye playfully. “No I haven’t. I probably should.” Ella quickly ponders where she might live in Houston. She wonders what Erin is thinking too. “What about you?”

“It’s all I’ve been thinking about since I got the email.” Erin says.

“Really?” Ella wrinkles up her nose.

Erin shrugs. “Well, not ALL. But, yeah, it’s been on my mind today. And I was thinking-” Erin pauses. “-live with me?” She’s not sure if she’s asking or telling. Asking mostly. Erin knows it’s not a sure thing but thinks that maybe Ella is open to the idea. She knows they haven’t been dating for that long but it sure seems like longer than a couple months.

Ella’s eyes get big and wide. “I- uh-“ Ella stutters. She wasn’t expecting Erin to say that. Ella was thinking living arrangements more on the lines like they were last season. Living in the same apartment building, not in the same apartment. Not that she doesn’t think they could do it but Ella knows they’ve only been dating a little while and knows it might be too much too soon. She’s also never lived with someone that she’s dated in a true sense where you are sharing your space and all of your things are mixed together and there’s no other place to go back to when you want.

Erin sees the panic in Ella’s eyes and knows she should be more specific. “Not like- more like we live with someone else too. Like in a big house with three or four of us.” She just wanted to run the idea by Ella. “But, I wanted to just go over all the options with you. Obviously, I should have started out differently. I started with what I wanted to happen. But, whatever decision I make, we make, I need you to be one hundred percent okay with. It can be just one and me or it could be a few of us. It could be a one-bedroom apartment or we each get an apartment. A house with like four girls and then there’s the host family option but I don’t really feel comfortable with that.” Erin rambles. “Ella, say something.”

“Uh- can I think about it.” Ella doesn’t want to make a snap decision. She wants to make sure that she knows what she wants before she says one way or another.

“Of course, take your time. I mean- not too much time. We have to let the team know by the end of the week.” Erin reminds her.

“I know. I’ll think about it and let you know tomorrow.” Ella says. “So what else happened today? Anything worth mentioning.”

Erin bites her lip and thinks. “Uh-“ She chuckles as she thinks of something. “At training Sophie was running to get to a ball. I think she wanted to stop the ball and change directions. She put her foot on top of the ball to bring the ball and herself to a halt but I guess momentum got the best of her. Landed flat on her back. She was alright. I haven’t laugh that hard in a long time.” Erin sighs.

Ella smiles into the camera. She can imagine that sort of thing happening, especially to Sophie. “Wow, embarrassing.” Ella knows the feeling. She’s had a few slips and falls in her time playing the game.

“Yeah, how’s your training going?” Erin asks. She knows Ella’s been working hard at being ready for the beginning of the new season. They’re both very excited about this new opportunity, with a brand new team, and seeing what can become of it.

“Good. Today’s session wasn’t bad but tomorrow we’ve got a double.” Ella says with a yawn.

“Maybe you should get some sleep then. We can talk tomorrow.” Erin suggests.

“I’ll be more tired then.” Ella reminds.

Erin shrugs. “I don’t mind. It’s cute when you’re sleepy.” Erin grins dopily. “Plus, you get the day after that off, right?”

Ella nods. “Right. I should probably get some sleep. But I’ll call you tomorrow night.”

“I can’t wait.” Erin smirks. “Love you, babe.”

“Love you, too.” Ella says happily. She doesn’t like being apart from Erin for so long but Facetime is a great help. And they talk every night so it’s not as bad as it could be but Ella wishes they could be in the same place more often. She’s counting down the days until pre-season in Houston.

“Goodnight, beautiful.” Erin blows Ella a kiss.

“Goodnight.” Ella sighs and ends the call.

* * *

 

Ella calls Erin the next day. She’s made a decision.

“Hello.” Erin answers the call.

“Hi.”

Erin grins at hearing Ella’s voice. “It’s not night time yet.”

“I know but I’ve made a decision and I wanted to tell you now. I’ll Facetime you later, don’t worry.”

“Good. Cuz I love seeing that dorky face of yours.” Erin cheeses.

Ella rolls her eyes. “Do you want to know my decision or not?”

“Oh, yes. Please, do tell.” Erin anticipates the decision. She’s been thinking about it all morning. She’s a bit surprised that she is talking to Ella right now but isn’t going to protest against it. She’s more than happy to speak with Ella even if she was trying to eat lunch.

“I like that house option. That way, it will be a little cheaper to split between four people. There will always be someone around to hang out with and we’d each have our own rooms, own space. I think it’s probably the best option. It’ll be fun, I think.”

“As long as I’m one of those four people.” Erin says.

Ella grins and chuckles. “Of course. You’re A1 on my list.”

“Like the steak sauce?” Erin asks with a smirk.

“What?” Ella thinks for a moment. “No, not like the steak sauce, you weirdo. We can request to live together, right?” Ella asks, changing the subject back.

“I already sent an e-mail asking the same thing. And yes, we can.” Erin’s excited to have Ella on board with this idea.

“Sweet.” Ella does a fist pump. “I can’t wait.” It’s hard for her to believe that she’s going to be living with Erin in a few short months and that they will get to see each other every day but it appears that it’s going to happen.

“Me neither.” Erin agrees. “I’m just eating lunch, babe. Is it okay if I let you go. I only have fifteen minutes before our next training session starts.”

“Sure thing. I just wanted to see if I could catch you before tonight. I’ll talk to you later, love.” Ella says into the phone.

“Okay, bye. Love you.” Erin says and hangs up. Just talking to Ella over the phone puts a smile on her face and energizes her for the rest of the afternoon. The fact that Ella has agreed to live with her is just icing on a very sweet cake.

* * *

 

Erin waits excitedly at baggage claim. She knows it takes a while to get through all the protocol at the airport but she couldn’t wait any longer and showed up early. Erin sits in a chair in the corner and watches the bags as they go around on the carousel. She watches the people come, collect their bags and go. Some greeted by family or friends. Others on their way alone. Erin kind of likes people watching, so it’s a good thing to do to pass the time as she waits. And it keeps Erin’s excitement at bay. It’s a Friday and she has the day off from training. The whole team does because it’s Valentine’s Day. It’s Valentine’s Day and she’s waiting at the airport for her Valentine.

She loses track of time and it’s not until Ella is coming right at her that Erin realizes as much. She stands up and waits for Ella to close the few feet between them. “Hey.” Erin says shyly.

“Hey, to you too.” Ella grins and drops her bag at her feet. She reaches out and pulls Erin into her arms, burying her nose in Erin’s shoulder. “How long have you been here?” Ella asks and pulls back to look into Erin’s eyes.

Erin shrugs. “Almost an hour.”

Ella scrunches up her face at Erin. “Why?”

Erin looks down at the floor. “I couldn’t wait around any longer.” She admits.

“You’re cute.” Ella grins. “Let’s go.” She picks up her bag and starts walking out of the airport. Erin follows behind, quickly catching up to Ella, and then walking next to her.

They get in the car and Erin reaches into the back seat and pulls a bag into the front. “What’s that?” Ella asks with excitement.

“For you.” Erin says and hands the paper bag to Ella.

Inside the bag is a box of chocolates and a small stuffed polar bear. “Erin, you didn’t have to.” Ella says when she looks inside the bag.

“Yeah, I know.”

“I didn’t get a present for you.” Ella looks over at Erin with a pout.

Erin leans across the center console, she reaches over and puts her palm on Ella’s opposite cheek. “You are the present.” She goes in for a kiss that Ella is more than eager to meet her for. It’s a quick kiss though, they are in the airport parking ramp after all.

Ella licks her lips as Erin resituates herself in the driver’s seat. “I’ll share some of my chocolates with you.”

Erin hums. “I was hoping you might.” She starts up the car and backs out of the parking space. “But you don’t have to if you don’t want.” Erin doesn’t want Ella feeling guilty that she didn’t get a present. “I’m just happy you are here and that we get to spend Valentine’s Day together.”

“I’m excited to see the girls.” Ella adds.

“Really?” Erin side eyes Ella, a little dissapointed. “That’s what you’re excited about. Really?”

Ella shrugs. “Well, yeah. What time are we meeting up?”

Erin frowns and looks straight ahead at the road and focuses solely on driving. “Six, I think.” She glances over at Ella at the first red light they come to and Ella is staring at her. “What?” Erin asks.

Ella had been staring at her the whole time. Since she asked about the meet up. Ella shakes her head and busts out into laughter. “You’re too much sometimes. You’re face.” Ella reaches for Erin’s hand. “Yeah, sure. I’m excited to see the girls tonight but I’m much much more excited about seeing you and spending the next couple of days with you. You come before everyone else.” She squeezes Erin’s hand.

“Oh.” Erin feels a little silly. Silly that Ella so easily messed with her.

“It is Valentine’s Day after all. I mean I wouldn’t even be seeing the girls if I wasn’t here to see you.” Ella adds.

“Right.” Erin nods and watches the road.

“I can’t wait to see what you have planned.” Ella grins.

“Who said I have anything planned?” Erin throws back.

“Come on.” Ella chuckles. “I know you do. It might not be for tonight, obviously. But I know you have something up your sleeve.” She brings Erin’s hand to her lips and kiss the back of it. “I can’t wait.”

Erin just smiles in the driver’s seat.

* * *

 

Ella plays with Max until she has to get ready to go. Erin was first to shower and get ready to go out. They had a light dinner and a glass of wine beforehand.

Erin is sitting at the table when Ella comes out of the bathroom all dressed up and all ready to go. Erin looks over at Ella and her mouth hangs open. “Hot damn.” Erin gets up.

“You like?” Ella bites her lip.

“Mmhmm.” Erin walks over to Ella and takes both on her hands in her own. She stands at arm’s length and looks Ella up and down. “How did I manage to score such a hot girlfriend?” She jokes.

“Hey now.” Ella pulls her hands away from Erin’s and puts her hands on her hips. Erin pouts and gives Ella big pleading eyes. Ella rolls her eyes at Erin’s antics. “Let’s go. Or we are gonna be late.” Ella steps past Erin but on her way swings her arm out and smacks Erin on the butt. “You look great too.” Ella says as she walks over to get her jacket.

Erin grins and spins around. She follows after Ella and wraps Ella up in her arms from behind.

“What are you doing?” Ella asks. They are going to be late to meet up with their friends if they don’t leave in the next couple of minutes.

“I love you.” Erin whispers into Ella’s ear and kiss the spot just below it.

Ella sighs. Nothing feels better. Being in Erin’s arms, hearing the words, and physically feeling the love. “I love you, too, Erin.” She says softly.

* * *

The girls meet at a café near the arena where the Miley concert is taking place. There are eight of them in total. The group is loud and excited and the other patrons of the café aren’t too thrilled about that.

“What are you doing here, America?” Carm teases as Erin and Ella walk in the door. She knew Ella was going to be joining them for the evening.

Ella rolls her eyes. “You knew I was coming.”

Carm pretends she has a microphone in her hand and brings it up to her face. She talks loudly for everyone in the cafe to hear. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m pleased to announce everyone’s favorite peasant. Flying in just for tonight. To grace us with her presence. On an evening that was supposed to be strictly for Canadians.” Carm glares at Erin and Erin shrugs. “The one. The only. Ella Masar.”

Ella laughs. Everyone else chuckles or shakes the heads. “Thanks, Carm.” Ella grins. She feels like it’s going to be a good night. “And FYI I’m here for the whole weekend, not just tonight.”

“Of course you are.” Carm smirks.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ella asks.

“Nothing, dear peasant. Nothing.” Carm wraps her arm around Ella’s shoulders with a goofy grin. “Let’s get going. I don’t want to be late.” Carm leads the group. She’s super excited to see Miley with all of her friends.

They march down the street talking loudly and laughing. Ella pulls Erin to the back of the group. “Are you sure it’s okay that I’m coming along?” Ella asks.

“Don’t listen to Carm.” Erin shakes her head. “You should know that. You and Carm were practically attached at the hip at one time or another. Carm is all jokes. What’s gotten into you?” Erin asks as they walk.

Ella thinks it’s probably just uncertainty and insecurity. This is all new to her. She’s the American hanging out with the Canadian Women’s Soccer Team. It’s a bit of an odd situation. Though none of the Canadians seem to think so.

“Okay, yeah, it’s fine.” Ella nods, convincing herself that there’s nothing to worry about. “And Carm and I weren’t attached at the hip.” Ella adds.

Erin whips her head to the side to look at Ella with raised eyebrows. “You sure. Cuz that’s how it seemed.”

Ella shrugs. “I mean- sure- but-“ She gets shy.

Erin nudges Ella’s shoulder, trying to get her to talk. “But, what?”

Ella bites her lip and looks down at the ground. “I was- it was- she was-“

“Spill it, kid.” Erin cozies up next to Ella, slipping her hand into Ella’s.

“I spent so much time with Carm so I didn’t have to think about you.” Ella admits. “She was more or less a distraction from my attraction. Hey, that rhymes.” Ella grins and looks up to Erin. “Yeah, we had fun and became best friends but- she- yeah.” Ella shrugs. “Why, were you worried?”

“No.” Erin wasn’t, not back then. “Carm becomes best friends with everyone she meets, it seems.”

“Well, she’s got nothing on you, babe.” Ella grins.

Erin squeezes Ella’s hand, happy as a clam, as they walk down the sidewalk behind the rest of the group to the arena.

* * *

 

Ella wakes up early the next morning and gets out of bed without waking Erin. She finds Erin’s keys and takes Max out for a walk.

“Now when we get back you gotta be quiet and not wake Mommy up. Okay?” Ella talks to the dog as they approach Erin’s building. “I’m gonna make your Mommy a special breakfast. You wanna help me?”

Max looks back at Ella. She chuckles. “Okay.” Ella knows he doesn’t know what she’s talking about, just that she’s talking to him.

Ella, as quietly as possible, makes omelets for them for breakfast. She’s not greatest in the kitchen but she does know what she’s doing. When the food is finished Ella brings it into Erin’s room. She sets the two plates of food on Erin’s desk and then picks Max up and puts him on the bed next to Erin’s face. He does the rest. Max licks at Erin’s face and she wakes up right away.

“What? Max?” She opens her eyes and sees Max. Behind Max’s head she sees Ella grinning like a fool.

“Okay, Max. You’ve done a good job. Thank you.” Ella throws the treat that she had in her pocket out the bedroom door into the other room. Max jumps off the bed and runs after it. Ella shuts the door after him and grabs the food off of the desk.

“What’s all this?” Erin says, wiping the dog kisses off of her face.

“Happy Valentine’s Day.” Ella hands Erin a plate and sits on the bed with her own.

“A day late?” Erin raises an eyebrow.

“Well, I wasn’t here yesterday morning so, yeah.” Ella leans in and kisses Erin’s cheek. “Eat up.”

They eat their breakfast and afterwards Erin rewards Ella for making breakfast with some morning loving.

They spend most of the day in bed or laying on the couch watching soccer and movies and just being all cuddled up and lazy together. Towards dinner time Erin gets up and goes into the kitchen.

When she doesn’t return after a couple of minutes Ella looks over in her direction. “What are you doing?”

“Making you Valentine’s dinner.” Erin shrugs.

Ella smiles. She knew Erin had a few things planned. She gets off of the couch and goes over to Erin. She wraps her arms around Erin’s waist from behind. “What are we having?” She hums.

“It’s a surprise. You have to wait.” Erin turns her head to the side so she can kiss Ella.

Ella frowns after the kiss. She looks over everything that Erin has out on the counter. Ella can’t figure out what meal Erin is preparing from the ingredients in front of them.

“Why don’t you take Maxwell for a walk.” Erin suggests. She sort of wants Ella out of her hair while she makes dinner.

“Okay.” Ella says glumly. She knows when she’s not wanted. She kisses Erin’s shoulder and steps away from her. “Max.” Ella yells.

The little pup comes running, a smile on his face, and his tail wagging happily.

* * *

 

When Ella and Max return it’s to a darkened apartment. The lights are off and the only thing lighting the apartment are a few strategically placed candles. “Erin?” Ella doesn’t see Erin anywhere.

The goalkeeper pops out of the bedroom when she hears Ella. She’s changed her clothes out of sweats into something a little nicer for dinner. A button-down and some black skinny jeans.

“Wow.” Ella mumbles feeling severely underdressed all of a sudden. “I didn’t know this was a fancy event.” She smiles and takes her coat off.

Erin slowly goes over to Ella. She takes Ella’s hand and leads her to the table. She pulls out the chair for Ella and offers it to her. Ella sits and Erin helps push her in. “And they say chivalry is dead.” Ella jokes. Secretly, Ella loves the attention to detail that Erin has put into everything that’s involved with this dinner. It’s perfect already and Ella hasn’t even tried the food yet but she knows that will be perfect too because Erin is the best cook she’s ever seen. It marvels Ella at how talented Erin is at so many different things.

Erin goes over to the counter to retrieve the food. She brings it to the table on a few serving trays. She sets them down and lifts the lids.

Ella looks at the food and buckle over in laughter. “I fucking love you.”

Erin stands across from Ella with a smug grin firmly plastered on her face. “So you think you’ll enjoy your meal?”

“Trying to throw me off, McLeod.” Ella says about the nice clothes and the candles and the way the food was presented. “But, yes, I will enjoy it.”

“Good.” Erin goes in for a kiss before she sits down. “Happy belated Valentine’s Day, baby.” Erin sits and puts a tortilla on her plate and on Ella’s. “Now, what would you like on your taco?” Erin offers.

Tacos are one of Ella’s favorite meals. She can’t believe that Erin made tacos for their first Valentine’s Day. Ella didn’t think of that yet. It’s their first Valentine’s Day. Sure, she knew it was Valentine’s Day and that they would be spending it together. But to think that this is the first one and this is what she will remember next year, hopefully when they are celebrating Valentine’s Day again.

“Everything you got.” Ella says with a smile. She reaches out for a wine glass that is full of something that definitely doesn’t look like any wine Ella’s ever seen. She takes a sip and finds it’s not wine but beer. Ella figures that makes sense with tacos.

* * *

 

Ella is in the bedroom after dinner packing everything into her bag to save time in the morning before her flight. Erin said they were going out for breakfast so Ella wants to have plenty of time for that.

Erin walks into the room to see Ella bent over her bag. She passes Ella by and goes to sit on the bed. She’s got the dishes done and everything is put away from dinner. Erin watches as Ella packs and even repacks somethings. “Do you think I could sleep in some of your shorts and a t-shirt so I can put my pj’s up tonight?” Ella asks. She knows it’s probably not a problem and that she could go over to Erin’s dresser and pick something out and Erin wouldn’t even care but she wants to ask.

“Whatever you want, babe.” Erin whispers huskily, still staring at Ella.

Ella wrinkles up her face and actually looks over in Erin’s direction. Ella sees the expression on Erin’s face and clearly sees the hunger there. “Jesus, Erin.”

“Come here.” Erin wiggles her finger for Ella to come to her.

Ella goes over to the bed and sits sideways on Erin’s lap. Erin’s hands go to Ella’s hips as soon as she’s seated. “Enjoying the show?” Ella asks in reference to Erin watching her pack and most liking staring at her butt as she does so.

Erin nods and smirks.

“You’re such a dope.” Ella chuckles and then kisses Erin. She loves how much Erin appreciates her. And how much Erin appreciates her body.

Erin pulls Ella into a deeper kiss and Ella wants to protest. She wants to tell Erin that she has to finish packing but she also thinks that her time with Erin is limited and that they should experience as much as they can together while they can. Throwing caution to the wind, Ella pushes Erin backwards onto the bed. Once Erin is laying down Ella straddles her hips and leans down to reconnect their lips.

* * *

 

The alarm rudely wakes them up on Sunday morning. They get dressed and go down to the coffee shop near where Erin lives.

“Go find us a table and I’ll order.” Erin says and hands Maxwell off to Ella.

Ella takes Max and they get a table in the corner, next to the window. Ella sits by the window with Max on her lap. They look out and watch the few people that are out and about on a Sunday morning. She presses a kiss to the top of his head and rests her chin gently there. She’s gonna miss Max. They’ve become the best of buds again and Ella really enjoys having him around.

Erin gathers up their tray and turns to see Ella and Max at the window. She pulls her phone from her pocket and snap a quick picture before going over to the table. “Here we go.” Erin sets the tray down and slips into the seat next to Ella.

“What are you doing?” Ella looks to her side at Erin.

“Having breakfast with you.” Erin grins extra brightly. Ella shakes her head with a tight-lipped smile and Erin knows she’s going to be able to get away with sitting on the same side of the table as Ella. Erin puts Ella’s food and drink out in front of her and then does the same with her own.

“Thanks.” Ella mumbles and starts eating.

Ella finishes before Erin and rests her left hand on Erin’s thigh under the table. She’s not entirely comfortable with public displays of affection but Ella is more than comfortable with Erin. Plus, she needs that little extra connection right now before her flight.

Erin looks over at Ella and raises an eyebrow in her direction.

Ella pats at Erin’s leg. “Just finish eating.” She says with a smile.

Erin finishes and they exit the coffee shop. Erin gets the door for Ella at the car and she waits until Ella and Max are safely in the passenger’s seat before shutting the door and going around to get in on the driver’s side.

It’s quiet on the way to the airport but not in an uncomfortable way. They had agreed that Erin would just drop Ella off at the door and leave. And that’s what happens.

Ella gets out and hugs and kisses Max before setting him on the front seat and closing the door. Erin comes around the car in the meantime and gets Ella’s bag out of the back. She sets it on the sidewalk and then turns to Ella and opens her arms. Ella steps into Erin’s arms and they squeeze each other tightly. “I’ll see you soon.” Erin whispers.

“Yes, soon.” Ella agrees.

Soon really is soon. A couple of weeks, if that. The end of February they will see each other again.

“Have a safe flight and let me know when you land.” Erin say pulling away from Ella.

“I will.” Ella nods. She looks and checks their surroundings. “I love you.” Ella says and leans into Erin, kissing her cheek.

Erin eyebrows shoot up in surprise but she doesn’t miss a beat. “I love you, too.” She says with a pleased smile.

Ella reaches down and picks up her bag. With one last look at Erin, Ella walks into the airport. Erin sighs and watches Ella go for a few seconds before she rounds the front of her car and gets back inside and leaves.


	29. Chapter 29

Erin gets all of her things ready and then gets all of Max’s things gathered. She stands there and looks around her apartment one last time. She doesn’t really know the next time that she’s going to be here. She flies out today and doesn’t know when she’ll be back on Canadian soil.

“Ready to go, buddy?” Erin looks down at Max. They need to leave soon so they’re not late. Erin feels a little sad that she’s leaving but at the same time as she thinks about her next destination she can’t keep the smile off of her face.

“Say bye.” Erin tells Max. He tilts his head to the side in confusion. Erin chuckles. “Okay, let’s go.” Erin opens the door and Max trots out. He waits for Erin in the hallway. Erin grabs her bag and shuts the door, locking it.

They go downstairs and out to the street. Erin’s sister has agreed to bring Erin and Max to the airport. “Hey, sis.” Erin opens the back door of her sister’s car and puts her bag inside. She and Max get in the front seat and they are on their way.

“So, Erin, tell me something.” Cara says and side eye’s Erin as she drives.

“What?” Erin knows her sister is trying to get information out of her. Erin has been pretty hush hush about her new relationship. Cara is the only one who knows that Erin is dating someone new. “Is the reason your spending your few days off before Cyprus your new lover?”

Erin rolls her eyes. “Cara. Ugh.”

“It must be serious if you are going to Denver to see this person.” Cara comments.

Erin shrugs. “Maybe. Maybe not.” She doesn’t want to reveal too much. Erin doesn’t want to let her family know too much before she’s sure that her and Ella are going to continue on. That’s what Erin wants but at the same time it’s very early in their relationship.

“You’re no fun. Can’t I get any details.” Cara whines.

“No, cuz you’ll turn around and tell mom. And I don’t want mom to know yet.” Erin says flat out.

“Fine.” Cara huffs and the ride is silent for a while.

The closer to the airport that they get the bigger the smile on Erin’s face gets. Her leg starts bouncing and it disturbs Max on her lap. Cara looks over at Erin’s anxiousness. “Excited?” Cara asks.

“Yes.” Erin admits. She hugs Maxwell to her chest. “Are you excited too, buddy?”

Max looks up at Erin with his mouth open and his tongue hanging out with an excited smile.

* * *

 

Ella gets up early and gets ready for training. She walks into the gym with a little extra pep in her step and a little extra excitement in her body. Ella pulls out her phone to put it on silent. A common practice while she’s working out. She debates whether it’s still too early or not but she goes for it anyway. Better to send out a text now then to wait until lunch. Even if it’s early.

**Happy Birthday!!! I love you.**

Ella hits send and shoves her phone into her bag.

When training is done Ella goes for her phone right away. She looks at it and sees a text right away.

**Thanks babe. I’m boarding the plane right now. See you soon.** Followed by three heart emojis.

Ella smiles down at her phone. She looks at the message that was sent almost two hours ago. Ella checks the time. She has enough time to get something to eat before she has to be at the airport. Ella showers quickly. She doesn’t want to be stinky when she picks Erin up at the airport. And then she runs down the block from the gym to a cafe to grab something to eat. Ella sits down at a table with her food and scrolls through her phone. It reminds her again that it’s Erin’s birthday and Ella gets an idea.

She scrolls through the photos on her phone until she finds one that is perfect. One from the last time she was in Vancouver. She opens up Instagram and adds the photo. Ella thinks for a few seconds on what the appropriate caption should be. It takes her couple of tries to get it but finally settles on ‘Wishing @erinmcleod18 a very Happy Birthday. It’s not every day you meet someone that changes your life for (only) the better… What a great egg #luckylady

Ella smiles and hits post. Yes, it’s more than a simple happy birthday. Yes, it’s personal. Yes, Ella knows this. But, it’s the truth and it’s what she wanted to post.

When she gets to the airport Ella parks and goes inside. She finds a spot to sit and wait. Erin texted her to tell her that the plane landed but she and Max have to go through customs and immigration yet so it will be a little while. Ella doesn’t mind waiting if it means she gets to see her favorite person in a short few minutes.

She sees Max before she sees Erin. Obviously, it’s easier to spot a little dog among dozens of people than it is to pick out a specific person in all the people. Ella stands up and goes over to them. She meets Erin in an embrace. They hold onto each other for a good thirty seconds. Max curiously stands on his hind legs and puts his front paws on Ella’s lower leg. With a content sigh, Ella pulls back from Erin. It’s intoxication being in Erin’s presence again. All of Ella’s sense tune to Erin and something just overcomes her every time they reunite. Erin makes Ella fell things that she’s never felt before just by simply being in her presence.

“How was your flight?” Ella asks.

“Good.” Erin nods with a small smile.

Ella bends over and pats Max on the head. “Hi, buddy.” She smiles down at the little dog.

Ella turns her attention back to Erin. “Happy Birthday!” She grins happily.

“Thanks.” Erin starts walking, even though she doesn’t know where she’s going. She figures it will get Ella moving and they can get out of the airport to somewhere more private as soon as possible. “I saw your post.” She looks over at Ella. “I think I’m the luckiest though.” She winks at Ella.

Ella blushes and looks down at the floor as they walk. “Did you like it though?” Ella asks shyly.

Erin bumps into Ella with her shoulder. “I did.”

Ella nods and leads Erin and Max out of the Denver airport to her car. They drive back to her aunt and uncle’s house, where she’s staying during her training. It just so happened that her aunt and uncle will be going out of town for the weekend and Ella gets the house all to herself for a few days. Ella is lucky enough to have great relatives and when she asked if Erin could visit for a few days they were more than happy to say yes and they even pushed their trip out of town up by a day and are leaving after dinner tonight.

“What do you want to do tonight?” Ella asks as she drives. “I was thinking we could go out for a birthday dinner but we don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Erin squeezes Ella’s hand in hers. “We can do dinner but I don’t want to be out long.” Erin knows about the housing arrangement. She just wants to spend some quality time with Ella and Max. She’s only going to be in Denver for a few days and wants to make the most of it.

* * *

 

After dinner, they come back to a quiet house. Ella unlocks the door and turns the lights on. “Max.” She calls out. He usually comes running when the door opens but not today.

“Probably because he’s in an unfamiliar place.” Erin says.

Max comes out of the bedroom slowly. He rounds the corner and when he sees that it’s Erin and Ella he trots over to them happily.

“What do you say we go for a walk?” Ella asks, looking over at Erin.

“All three of us?” Erin asks with a quirked eyebrow. Ella nods. “Okay.” Erin agrees. She gets Max’s coat on him and gets his leash and they are ready to go.

* * *

 

“How is it colder here than in Vancouver?” Erin shivers as they enter the house.

Ella laughs. “I told you. It might be further north but it’s by the water. The water keeps it warmer.”

Erin doesn’t exactly think that’s correct but then again maybe Ella has a point. “I’m gonna go unpack and change out of these clothes.” She leans into Ella’s body and kisses her quickly before making her way to the guest room that Ella is staying in.

Ella goes into the kitchen and gets out two mugs. She finds the hot chocolate mix and then fills the mugs with water. The mugs go in the microwave and as they heat, Ella gets a spoon and opens the mix. The microwave dings and Ella takes the waters out. Erin enters the room and Ella sees her out of the corner of her eye. Ella adds the mix and stirs the hot chocolate.

“Ya know, you don’t need hot chocolate. I’ll warm you up.” Erin says accompanied with a devilish grin.

Ella looks over at Erin and raises an eyebrow at her. Erin comes over to Ella and pulls her into a kiss. She puts her hands on Ella’s hips and tries to tug her towards the bedroom as the kiss turns heated but Ella stays rooted in her spot.

Ella puts a hand on Erin’s chest and puts some space between them, breaking the kiss. “Let me bring these with.”

Erin smirks and licks her licks. She spins around and leads the way to the bedroom. Ella follows closely behind with a mug of hot chocolate in each hand.

* * *

 

Ella catches her breath and pulls the blanket up underneath her armpits. She reaches over to the nightstand and grabs the two hot chocolates. She holds one out for Erin to take. Which Erin does and brings the mug to her lips. “Bleck.” Erin groans and makes a disgusted face. “More like cold chocolate.”

Ella chuckles. “That bad?” She asks and takes a drink of her hot chocolate. “Hmm. Yeah, that bad.” Ella puts her mug back on the nightstand.

“Maybe about half an hour ago it would’ve been good but now- no.” Erin hands her mug to Ella and Ella puts it with the other unsavory hot chocolate.

“And who’s fault is that?” Ella grins.

Erin smirks. “Yours.”

Ella laughs. She rolls onto her side to face Erin. Ella sighs, content, as she looks upon Erin. She thinks about how lucky she is to be spending Erin’s birthday with her. It almost didn’t happen with schedules, and flights, and training, but here they are.

Erin lays in a similar position. She bites her lower lip into her mouth as she thinks. Ella can see the gears turning behind Erin’s eyes. “What are you thinking about?” She asks as she tucks some hair behind Erin ear.

Erin hums. “The next couple of weeks. So much is going to happen between now and Houston.” They’ve talked about this a couple of time already. They needed to, in order to get their living arrangements sorted out.

“Travelling halfway across the world. A full tournament. More travelling. And finally ending in Houston. I’m gonna be so tired when I get back.” Erin sighs. “Are you sure you’re okay with setting everything up in Houston?” Erin asks. She doesn’t want to make Ella do anything she doesn’t want to. And she doesn’t want to push things unto Ella if they can wait until she can do them herself.

“This isn’t my first rodeo.” Ella laughs.

Erin grins. She knows that and she’s confident that Ella can handle getting everything ready at the house they are set to move into in Houston. Plus, she’ll have two roommates to help her out if she needs it. “And you’re sure you’re okay with taking Max?”

Ella rests her palm on Erin’s cheek. She leans in for a soft kiss. “Yes.” Ella whispers.

“Okay, cuz he can be a handful sometimes. And you have to remember to feed him in the morning and at dinner time. He only gets three quarters of a cup at meal time. Don’t feed him anymore or he’ll get fat. Oh, and, no more three treats a day. Those’ll make him fat too. You have to play with him every day. He likes fetch the most but he likes just about any time you play with him. Make sure he gets enough love and pats every day. He doesn’t like when you touch his tail so don’t do that. But, he loves when you scratch his tummy.”

Ella smiles dopily as Erin lists off things. “Erin.”

Erin stops and looks Ella in the eyes. “What?” Not realizing that she was off on a tangent.

“You’re worry is absolutely adorable.” Ella grins. “But, I got this handled.” She kisses Erin again. “Me and Max are going to have a great time while you’re gone. And we will be waiting excitedly for you to get to Houston but you don’t need to worry. I’ll take good care of your boy.”

Erin tucks her chin to her chest, a little embarrassed that she went on that crazy rant. Of course Ella can take care of Max. She’s not worried about Ella’s abilities. She’s just worries about Max sometimes. “Sorry.” Erin mumbles.

“Don’t apologize.” Ella says. She rubs her thumb across Erin’s cheekbone. “Any good mom would be worried.”

Erin smiles shyly. “I love you.”

Ella grins toothily. “I love you too, hun. Happy birthday, again.”

“Best birthday ever.” Erin leans into Ella. She wraps her arm around Ella and pulls their bodies together, kissing all over Ella’s face.

Ella giggles. “Let’s get some sleep. I have training tomorrow.” Ella smirks. “And you’re coming with me.”

“What?” Erin pulls back from Ella. “Since when?”

“Since now.” Ella chuckles.

Erin rolls her eyes. “Alright. Sleep it is.”

“I love you.” Ella pulls Erin back to her and kisses her.

“Love you.” Erin sighs. “Goodnight, beautiful.”

“Night.” Ella cuddles into Erin’s body and closes her eyes.

* * *

 

“What are you doing?” Erin asks when she looks up from untying her shoes and sees Ella standing in front of the mirror, with her phone in her hand, at arm’s length.

“Taking a selfie.” Ella replies and makes a face, taking the picture.

Erin chuckles. “Why?”

“Because I can.” Ella pulls her phone closer to her face and looks at the photo she just took.

“You’re not gonna put that on the internet, are you?” Erin stands up and goes over to Ella. She looks over Ella’s shoulder at the photo. Ella already has Twitter open and is typing out a caption. Erin watches as Ella types.

“There.” Ella says as she reads over her message. The caption on the photo of Ella wearing a Penn State t-shirt reads ‘sometimes you fine motivation in odd places…’ She tags Carm adding the words workout donezo and hashtags the photo #baecaughtme. Ella hits tweet and it’s done.

Erin chuckles. “Ya know people are gonna be mighty confused by that tweet. Like, I get it. Obviously.” Erin turns so that she’s facing Ella and puts her hands on Ella’s hips. “And Carm will too, but I think that’s about it.” Erin looks into Ella’s eyes.

“Let them think what they want.” Ella says, looking up at Erin.

Erin nods and looks down at the shirt Ella is wearing. “This too.” Erin adds. She pushes Ella up against the counter.

Ella smirks. “I know. That’s the best part.”

“What?” Erin looks at Ella.

“Everyone’s gonna think it’s Carm’s shirt.” Ella smirks. “Not yours.” She stole Erin’s Penn State t-shirt out of her dresser the last time she was in Vancouver. It’s the shirt she wore to bed the last night she was there and she just kept it on the next day and put a sweatshirt on over it for her plane ride back to Denver.

“You’re a little shit.” Erin leans in to kiss Ella but the locker room door swings open.

“Get a room, lovebirds.” Becky yells into the room as soon as she spots them in the position they are in.

Erin takes a step back from Ella, removing her hands from her hips. Ella blushes and looks down at the floor.

Becky laughs and goes to her locker. “You guys are cute. Don’t let me bother you.” Becky goes about her business of changing so she can get out of there and enjoy the rest of her day.

Ella goes over to her locker and opens it up. She takes off Erin’s shirt and shoves it in her bag. Ella puts on a clean shirt and looks over to Erin. “Ready to go?” She asks.

Erin nods. All she needed to change were her shoes.

Ella throws her bag over her shoulder. “Night, Broon. Don’t stay up too late. Last day of training tomorrow. Wouldn’t want me to beat you too many times on our last day together.”

Becky throws it back at Ella. “Whatever, Masar. I should be saying the same to you with that one.” Becky nods in Erin direction.

“Yeah, right.” Ella scoffs. “We will be in bed no later than ten pm.”

Becky laughs hard. “My point exactly.”

Ella frowns.

“You walked into that one.” Erin whispers. “Later, Becky. It was nice seeing you again.”

“Bye, Erin.” Becky waves the two out of the room. Ella’s not able to recover from her own slip up. She frowns all the way out to her car. Erin’s hand in hers as soon as they exit the parking lot wipes the frown off of her face though.

* * *

 

Ella has a double session. It’s the last training session for her in Denver. She is proud of the work she has put in this offseason and is happy with the outcome. Next is pre-season in Houston. A new challenge.

But, next, immediately, is getting back to the house to where Erin and Max are. It’s Erin’s last night in Denver before she has to fly to Cyprus. They have plans to go out to dinner so Ella needs to get back, shower, and get ready.

Max greets Ella at the door. “Hey, buddy. How’s my boy?” Ella bends down and pets Max.

“He’s not your boy.” Erin mumbles.

Ella looks up and over at Erin. Ella smiles and goes over to Erin. “And how’s my girl?”

Erin gives Ella a toothy grin. She likes those words and the way Ella owns them. “Good. Better now.” She meets Ella for a kiss.

“Good. I’m gonna shower right away. All sweaty.” Ella pats Erin’s cheek with her hand twice and steps past her.

Erin chuckles. She goes back to the table where she was sitting and drawing before Ella came in. Erin is all ready to go out already. They knew that Ella wouldn’t be back until dinner time and wouldn’t have much time to prepare to go out. So Erin showered and got ready before she got back from training.

Erin is drawing when Ella comes out of the bathroom wearing just a towel. She watches Ella go into the bedroom and disappear from sight. Erin packs up her sketching notebook and pencils and gets up from the table.

Ella goes back into the bathroom with an armful of clothes. “It’ll just be a little bit yet.” They don’t have any reservations so it isn’t too much of a big deal but Ella still doesn’t want to keep Erin waiting.

Erin nods and goes into the bedroom with her art supplies. She puts them in her bag and goes back out into the hallway. Erin goes to the kitchen and gets Max his supper. She knows they will be out late and doesn’t want him to think he’s not going to get fed.

When she’s done, Erin wonders how much longer Ella is going to be and ventures over to the bathroom to find out. Erin stops in the doorway, leaning against it with her shoulder, and sees Ella standing there with her phone again. “Are you taking more selfies?” Erin asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Maybe.” Ella bites her lip and looks over at Erin. “I’m just about ready.” Ella fluffs at her hair a little more and looks in the mirror to make sure her makeup is okay.

“Stop fussing. You look incredible.” Erin steps into the bathroom. She takes both of Ella’s hands and turns Ella so they are facing each other. She openly looks Ella up and down. “Just incredible.” Erin whispers.

“Thanks.” Ella blushes. “You ready?” Ella asks and Erin nods. “Okay, let’s go.” Erin leads Ella out of the bathroom by the hand. They go to the door and put jackets on before leaving for the evening.

Erin insists on driving, saying that she did some research during the day and picked the restaurant that they are going to. Ella is more than happy to let Erin do her thing and take the reins on this one.

Ella sits in the passenger seat while Erin takes them to the ‘surprise’ restaurant. She looks through her social media for the first time since lunch. Ella then looks at the selfies that she took. She picks the best one and posts it to Twitter with the caption ‘last night out in good ol Denver… how wonderful u have been 2 me.’ With the hashtag #baecaughtmeagain. She smiles over at Erin after she posts the photo.

“What?” Erin asks when she catches Ella looking.

“Nothing.” Ella grins. “I love you.”

“I love you, Ella.” Erin wonders what has Ella in such a smiley, happy mood but thinks that it’s maybe just that they are going out.

* * *

 

“How was your dinner?” Erin asks as they walk down the street.

“Great. Thanks for taking me out tonight.” Ella smiles at Erin.

“You’re welcome, pretty lady. You got anything planned for the rest of the night?” Erin asks.

“No.” Ella shakes her head.

Erin holds out her hand for Ella. “May I take you dancing?” She asks.

Ella bites her bottom lip and nods. A strange bolt of excitement runs through her body. She’s not sure what Erin means when she says dancing, but if it’s what she’s thinking they’re in for a great night.

Erin leads them down the street to a little club that has dancing. She did her research.

They go in and Erin tells Ella to find them a spot while she gets them some drinks. Erin walks over to Ella with a drink in each hand. “Here ya go.”

“Thanks.” Ella smiles. “So, may I ask what made you want to come here?” She asks.

Erin grins goofily. “Dancing, duh.”

Ella chuckles. “I know that but-“

“I wanted to see my girl dance.” Erin shrugs. “And dance with my girl.”

Ella blushes but accepts Erin’s words for what they are. She takes a long sip of her drink. It’s strong, which is good because Ella is going to need a little extra courage tonight.

They sit enjoying their drinks for a while. That is, until Ella runs out of drink. She stands up and holds out her hand. “Let’s do this.”

Erin pulls her lips to one side and side smirks. She accepts Ella’s offered hand and follows Ella onto the dance floor.

It starts out with casual dancing. Nothing too crazy.

That is until the song changes and Erin busts out the robot. Ella starts laughing. She can’t even dance and stands there as Erin dances around her goofily. After a little, Ella grabs Erin’s robot hands. Erin smiles goofily at Ella.

“You’re such a goof.” Ella says over the music.

Erin shrugs and they dance together for a couple of song until the DJ turns it to a slow song. Erin takes Ella’s hands and puts them on her shoulder. Her hands find Ella’s hips and Erin starts to lead them in a slow dance.

Ella bites her lip and stares into Erin’s eyes. She didn’t expect this tonight but finds herself pleasantly happy with the way the evening has unfolded.

Erin pulls Ella’s body tight to hers and wraps her arms around Ella’s back. Ella is a bit uneasy about the move but allows Erin to do her thing.

After the slow song is over, the DJ puts on a fast song with a heavy beat. Ella stays close to Erin. So very close. Ella works her hips to the song, bumping into Erin along with the beat. Erin is a bit surprised and raises an eyebrow at Ella.

Ella shrugs and looks down between their bodies. Erin’s hands move back to Ella’s hips as things get a little hot and heavy between them.

“Sexy.” Erin whispers and bites her bottom lip.

They dance together for a few more upbeat songs. When the DJ puts on a slower song Ella takes Erin by the hand and leads her out of the club.

“You don’t want to dance anymore?” Erin asks as they hit the cold Colorado night air.

Ella takes a deep breath. “No. I wanna get back to the house.” Ella turns to give Erin a suggestive look. “Now.” She emphasizes.

“Oh.” Erin smirks. She knows what Ella has on her mind and they hurry back to the car.

* * *

 

Ella pulls up outside the airport and stops the car. They left Maxwell back at the house and Erin said goodbye to him there. She’s really going to miss her pup and it will be the longest that they’ve been apart in a long time. But, Erin knows that Max is in good hands with Ella.

Erin gets out and grabs her bag from the back. Ella gets out too and rounds the car. “Well.” Ella sticks her hands in her pockets awkwardly.

It’s early. It’s really early and Ella would have preferred it if Erin’s flight would have been later in the day but she knows Erin got extra permission to leave today. She was supposed to leave yesterday but asked John if she could delay a day. So, an early morning flight it is.

“I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.” Erin promises. She pulls Ella into a tight hug. “In Houston, and then-“ Erin trails off.

“I know. No more distance.” Ella picks up where Erin left off. “No more goodbyes.” Ella presses her lips to the crook of Erin’s neck. “I love you. Have a safe flight.” Ella whispers.

“I love you too.” Erin whispers and takes a deep breath. “I’ll let you know when I get to Cyprus.”

“Okay.” Ella says and starts to pull back from their embrace. “Safe travels. I’ll see you soon.” Ella mumbles and takes a step back.

Erin grabs her bag. “I’ll let you know when I get there.”

Ella nods. “Okay.”

“Bye.” Erin gives Ella a tight-lipped smile.

Ella can barely even muster one, but does for Erin. “Bye.” Ella watches as Erin goes into the airport. She waits a few seconds before she gets back in the car to go back to her aunt and uncle’s pl


	30. Chapter 30

The drive seems like it’s taking forever. Ella has been driving all day and the sun is starting to set. She looks over to the passenger’s seat at her co-pilot. He’s fast asleep. Ella pats his head. “We’re gonna stop.” Ella mumbles. She pulls off the highway and heads into a tiny town for a pit stop.

Max comes to life as soon as the car comes to a halt. He stands up and puts his paws up on the door just below the window and looks out.

“I don’t know where we are Max, but it’s not Houston yet.” Ella tells him. He turns his head around and looks at Ella quickly before going back to look out the window. She looks around too and notices the sky. She gets her phone out and snaps a photo of the sunset with a railroad crossing sign in the foreground. Ella inspects the photo before posting it on Twitter.

“Time for dinner and a potty break.” Ella reaches into the back seat and gets Max’s leash out. She hooks him to it and gets out of the car. Ella goes around and opens Max’s door for him and he hops out. “Let’s do a little exploring.”

Ella and Max walk around the small Texas town. The place has a warm, welcoming feel and Ella knows she picked a good spot to stop. She wonders if she can get away with bringing Max into a store or café to get something to eat. She knows Erin does it in Vancouver and they even went into a few stores with Max during their time in Chicago. But, Ella is unsure of what is and isn’t acceptable in Texas.

She chances it when she sees a little diner up the street. They go inside and all the heads turn in their direction and look at them. Ella feels very self-concious all of a sudden. All eyes are on her and she doesn’t know if it’s because of Max or if it’s that she isn’t from this small town. She thinks it’s probably a little of both.

Ella walks up to the counter to a waitress who is standing there looking at her curiously. “Is it okay that he’s in here with me. I didn’t want to leave him in the car.”

The waitress looks down at Max. “You’re not from around here, are you dear?” She says with a southern drawl.

“No.” Ella gives the waitress a tight-lipped grin. “How could you tell?”

The waitress pauses, like she needs some time to really think about Ella’s question, before she responds. “First off, what your wearin’. Second, you sound like from the north or upper Midwest. Ain’t no Texas in your voice.”

“Well, you’d be right.” Ella nods. “So?” She jiggles Max’s leash. He looks up at Ella to see what’s going on. “He’s very well behaved. He won’t be running around and stealing food or anything like that. He’ll be by my side the whole time. Nobody will even know he’s here.” Ella makes a case for Max to stay with her while she eats her dinner.

“It’s fine, dear.” The waitress, Jane, says. “He’s very cute.”

“Oh, I know. I was struck by his overwhelming cuteness the first time we met.” Ella says.

“How long have you had him?” Jane asks.

“Oh.” Ella looks away from Jane and down at Max. She bends over and picks up Max. “He’s not mine.” Ella kisses the top of Max’s head.

Jane pulls her lips to one side. “You didn’t steal him, did you?” She asks.

Ella laughs. “No. We’re on our way to Houston. I play soccer. He’s my teammates dog.” Ella says, as if that explains it. In a sense, it does. But, maybe not in the best way. Either way, that’s all Ella is willing to reveal.

“Oh.” The waitress looks at Ella curiously. “Sit wherever you like. Would you like some coffee?”

“That would be great.” Ella smiles. She and Max go over to a little two-person table. Ella sits down and Max lays at her feet.

Jane comes over and pours Ella some coffee and hands her a menu. “I’ll give you a couple minutes to look that over, then I’ll be back.”

“Thank you.” Ella smiles kindly at Jane.

Ella has her meal and then they leave the diner. She makes sure Max does his business before they get back in the car. She gets out his food and water dish and set them next to the car so he can eat before they get on the road again.

Ella busies herself with her phone while Max is eating. She sends a photo of Max asleep in the passenger’s seat to Erin while she waits. She snaps a photo of him eating and sends that one too with the caption ‘Alive and well and eating dinner’. Ella knows that Erin is most likely asleep but she smiles at the thought of Erin seeing the photos of her boy first thing in the morning when she wakes up.

When Max is finished they get back in the car and continue on their journey to Houston.

* * *

 

Ella arrives at the house just before midnight. It’s late and she’s tired. She called her teammate and new housemate Brittany just after they left the diner and told her when she was going to arrive at the house. Ella and Brittany have talked a couple of times on the phone in preparation for moving in together. They found out they have quite a few things in common. Both being from Illinois and both being into religion and faith, they bonded quickly.

Brittany already moved into the house that they are going to live in a few days ago. Ella and Max are the next to arrive. Their other roommate is Bianca and she isn’t due to arrive for a couple days yet. Brittany said she would wait up for Ella and let her in the house when she got there.

Ella pulls into the driveway of the house. With the help of a navigation system it wasn’t hard to find. As soon as she pulls up, the blinds on the window on the front of the house split in two, and Ella sees Brittany’s head peeking in-between. Ella shuts the car off and the overhead light comes on. It wakes Max up from his slumber and he looks around curiously.

“We made it, buddy. Welcome to Houston. Our new home for the next six months or so.” Ella wonders, briefly, what’s going to happen at the end of the season and where she will be once it’s over. But it’s only a passing thought as she sees the front door of the house open up and Brittany come out into the dark night. “Let’s go Max.” Ella doesn’t bother with the leash this time. She gets out and waits for Max to follow her before she shuts the door.

Max goes to the bathroom as soon as he gets out. Ella waits for him and then they go up to the door together. Ella smiles as she approaches Brittany. “Hey.” She says and pulls Brittany into a hug.

“How was the drive?” Brittany asks.

“Long. I’m glad it’s over. It’s not too fun driving for so long by yourself.” Ella comments and releases Brittany from the hug.

“I see you weren’t by yourself though.” Brittany looks down at the little dog that stand next to Ella.

Ella looks down too. “I meant people.” She bends over and picks Max up. “Maxwell, this is Brittany. Our new roommate.”

“Hi, Maxwell.” Brittany scratches the pup between the ears. He takes in Brittany cautiously, sniffing and smelling her for anything dangerous.

“You think the stuff is okay in the car until morning?” Ella asks.

“Is it locked?” Brittany asks and Ella nods. “I’m sure it will be fine.”

“Good cuz I’m tired.” Ella says with a groan.

Brittany laughs. “Alright.” She backs into the house to let Ella inside the house. “This is the living room. The kitchen and the bathroom are to the right. The stairs.” Brittany points to her left where the stairs lie. “The bedrooms have beds and one dresser each but that’s about it.”

“Okay.” Ella says. She doesn’t even want to make her bed tonight. “I think me and Max will just sleep on the couch for tonight.”

“Really?” Brittany is a bit surprised.

“Yeah.” Ella nods. “It’s fine.”

“And Maxwell sleeps with you?” Brittany asks.

Ella grins. “Yes. Me and Max are buds.” Ella holds Max tight to her chest and kisses his head.

“But, he’s Erin’s dog?” Brittany wants to make sure she’s got all the facts straight.

“Yeah.” Ella nods. “But, Max and I got to know each other pretty well last season.”

Brittany nods. She takes in the new information and commits it to memory, but it leaves more questions than answers in Brittany’s mind. But, those can wait for another day. It’s late and she wants to get to bed. “I’m gonna head to bed if you don’t need anything else tonight.”

“I think I’m good.” Ella says. “Thanks, Brittany.” She says with a small smile.

Brittany heads to bed and Ella uses the bathroom and then sets up camp on the couch for the night.

* * *

 

The next morning Ella is up early. She and Max go outside. Max goes to the bathroom and Ella gets the bag with her laptop out of the car. Ella takes a look around the neighborhood and nods. It’s nice. She thinks it will be a good place to live.

They go back inside and set up shop in the kitchen. Ella gets the laptop out and sets it on the table. She plugs it in to charge while she waits. Ella gets Max his breakfast and then looks in the fridge to see if there’s anything she can eat. She’ll have to pay Brittany back for the two eggs that she takes and cooks.

Ella is halfway through eating her eggs when the computer alerts her that there is a Skype call. Ella has a large smile on her face when she connects with Erin.

“Hi.” Ella says shyly.

“Hey, girly.” Erin’s grin is lopsided. “You made it, huh?”

“Yep. Me and Max are in Houston.” Ella picks up the computer and points the camera at Max who is sitting on the floor next to her chair.

“Hi, Maxwell.” Erin yells into the computer.

Max perks up when he hears Erin calling his name. Ella smiles as he looks at the computer trying to figure out where Erin is and how he can hear her voice.

After a few seconds, Ella turns the computer back to herself. “How’s the tournament going?”

“Good, so far.” Erin grins. They are very early on in the Cyprus Cup though. Erin is really excited about the way the Canadian team has been playing.

“That’s good.” Ella says. “I hope you guys do well and then you can get you silly butt here.”

Erin smirks. “My silly butt, huh?”

Ella nods. “Yeah. I can’t wait to explore this city with you.”

“Have you seen any of it yet?” Erin asks.

“No. I got in at around midnight and went right to bed. I didn’t even get anything out of the car yet.” Ella says.

“And you’re talking to me.” Erin says.

“Well, duh.” Ella folds her arms over her chest casually. “That’s what we planned. Plus, I wouldn’t want to miss an opportunity. There aren’t many in the days to come with our busy schedules.”

“True.” Erin nods. “You didn’t have any problems in the car with Max?”

“Nope. Best co-pilot ever.” Ella chuckles and looks down at Max. He’s curled up on the floor sleeping. “No, but seriously. He was great. I know you worry about him but we survived the hardest part of moving. Now we just have to adjust to our new home.” Ella thinks her and Max probably feel the same way. In a new, unfamiliar city and a new house that neither one has seen before where everything is new. “He hasn’t left my side since we got here.” Ella adds.

That’s how Erin knows that she made the right decision and that Max will be fine. Max has Ella and even if he is somewhere unfamiliar he has Ella to stick with. Erin knows she doesn’t have to worry about Max. “Well, then maybe you and Max can do a little exploring before I get there.” Erin suggests. She would love to see pictures of Max and Ella in various places in Houston. It’s stuff like that, and picture of her family and niece and nephew that really keep her pushing when she’s in a faraway country playing for her team.

“We’ll see what we can do.” Ella smirks. She has a few ideas of what she and Max should do in the coming days. “We’ve got a couple days before pre-season training starts. But don’t count on today. I have to unload the car and unpack.”

“Sounds like a busy day.” Erin says.

“Yeah. I’m not looking forward to it.” Ella mentions. She’s probably going to procrastinate as long as she can. Talking with Erin is part of that procrastination.

Erin chuckles. “I’m sure.” She knows Ella will put off unpacking. But she also knows that it’s still very early in the day in Houston.

“You want me to put your stuff in your room?” Ella asks. It’s just one bag that Erin had brought with her to Denver when she went to visit Ella at the end of February.

“Whatever is easiest for you.” Erin says.

“What do you have on your schedule for today?” Ella asks. She’s curious about the schedule that the Canadians have while they are in Cyprus.

“An afternoon training session, then recovery tonight, then bed.” Erin shrugs.

“Okay. Sounds like-“ Ella stops mid-sentence when the kitchen door opens and Brittany walks in. Ella looks over at Brittany.

“Morning.” Brittany says, glancing over at Ella sitting at the table in front of her computer.

“Sounds like what?” Erin asks from the computer.

“Fun.” Ella says.

“Who’s that?” Brittany asks quietly.

Ella spins the laptop around to face Brittany. “Brittany, this is Erin. Live from Cyprus.”

Erin waves. “Hi, Brittany. Sorry I can’t be there yet.”

Brittany smiles. “Hi, Erin. I can’t wait to meet you in person.” Brittany goes over to the fridge and starts making her breakfast and letting Ella finish talking to Erin.

Ella looks over at Brittany’s back and wonders if she should finish here or finish her conversation with Erin in another room.

“Ella?” Erin asks.

“Wha? Sorry.” Ella spins the laptop back to face herself. “I was just thinking.”

“About what?” Erin asks.

“Oh, nothing.” Ella waves it off.

“I don’t believe you.” Erin sing-songs.

Ella rolls her eyes. “Whatever.” She bites her lower lip. “I should probably get going. I’ve got a lot to do today.”

“I thought you were procrastinating on that.” Erin says like a smartass.

“Yeah, yeah. You know me so well.”

“That’s the goal.” Erin grins.

Ella blushes and chances a glance over at Brittany but she still has her back to Ella. “Don’t you have training anyway?” Ella asks.

“Yeah.” Erin looks at the time. “In a few minutes.”

“Erin.” Ella scolds.

“What?” Erin raises her palms to the sky.

“Cutting it close.” Ella raises an eyebrow.

“Maybe, but I couldn’t pass up seeing Max and talking to you.” Erin says with a cheesy smile. Ella ends up sighing loudly. Even with everything she can’t fault Erin. She feels the same way. She wouldn’t pass up any opportunity to talk to Erin. “I should go, but I’ll talk to you soon and it won’t be long before I’m there.” Erin says.

“I know.” Ella nods. In little more than a week, Erin will be in Houston. “Now go.” She doesn’t want Erin to be late for training because of her.

“Okay.” Erin sigh. “Bye. I love you.” She says.

“Love you too.” Ella says automatically and ends the Skype. She shuts the laptop and that’s when Brittany spins around. Ella cringes and looks over at Brittany.

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but I was standing here making my breakfast and-“ Brittany trails off and just raises an eyebrow at Ella.

Ella brings her hand to the back of her neck and rubs there awkwardly. She feels caught. “So- uh- I guess since you are my new roommate- and you’re going to be Erin’s roommate as well- I should probably tell you- that- that-“ Ella tries to choose her words and choose them correctly.

“You’re adorable.” Brittany chuckles. “Take a deep breath.”

Ella looks down at the table and takes a deep breath. “Erin and I are together.” Ella whispers and peeks a look up at Brittany.

Brittany smiles. “Thanks for letting me know. But, I kinda gathered from all of this.” Brittany waves her hand around the kitchen in reference to Ella video chatting with Erin at a very early hour, and from Ella arriving with Erin’s dog. Brittany turns her back to Ella to finish making her breakfast.

“That’s it?” Ella asks, thinking she would get more from Brittany than a simple thanks for telling me.

Brittany looks over her shoulder. “What more would you like me to say?” She asks.

“I don’t know.” Ella mumbles and looks around awkwardly.

Brittany chuckles. “Would you like help today moving your stuff in?” She asks, changing the subject.

“That’d be great. I have to take Max for his morning walk though.” Ella gets up abruptly.

Brittany takes her plate of food and goes to sit at the table. “Okay, well I have to eat first.” She grins at Ella.

“Right.” Ella nods. “Let’s go Max.” Ella snaps her fingers and Max stands and runs after Ella as she leaves the kitchen.

Brittany chuckles and shakes her head as they go.

* * *

 

The team has started pre-season training. They’re a few days in and have their first true double session. Ella brings Max with because she doesn’t want to leave him alone all day long. He’s a sensitive guy and she thinks he won’t take too well to being left alone all day in a new place.

Max hangs out with the training staff during practice. Once Randy blows the finally whistle and tells the girls to hit the showers Max is let free to run around on the pitch. He runs over to Ella straight away.

Ella sees Max coming and bends over as he nears and she greets Max with a big smile.

Ella sees the picture on Twitter when they get back to the house from training. She smiles at how cute the picture is. Ella retweets the picture and adds her own caption - ‘Awww what a keeper’

Ella goes into the kitchen. It’s her night to make dinner. She and Bianca and Brittany switch off, taking turns making dinner and tonight is Ella’s turn.

Her phone beeps on the counter next to the stove. She looks at it and it’s a text from Erin. All it reads is **very cute**. Ella frowns not knowing what Erin is talking about. But then she gets another message. This one a notification from Twitter that Erin commented on her Tweet. She opens it up and laughs when she reads Erin’s comment – ‘what a fit specimen- Ella keep training’

Ella texts Erin. **Haha you brat.** She then comments on Erin’s comment. Ella thinks for a few seconds about Erin’s comment and types something sort of sassy back – ‘Just trying 2 keep up… I mean we can’t all be McLeod’s’ and adds the fist emoji to the end. Ella puts her phone down and with a huge smile on her face and works on dinner.

The phone beeps again. Ella looks and it’s another text from Erin. **You’re a brat too. And NO you’re not a McLeod.** Ella laughs out loud. She doesn’t really have a comeback for Erin so she leaves it at that.

Ella is starting to get antsy. The Cyprus Cup tournament has been over for two days now and she just can’t wait for Erin to get to Houston. But, she will be there in less than 48 hours and Ella will be counting down until the time she has to go to the airport to pick Erin up.

* * *

 

“I can’t wait til tomorrow.” Ella sighs. She stares into her computer screen at Erin.

“I know, babe. Me too.” Erin says. “Just one more sleep. You’re picking me up from the airport, right?”

“Psst.” Ella spits out. “You think I’d let you take a cab. I have to see you as soon as I can. I’m not going to wait til you get to the house or something stupid like that. I’ll be there. You want me to bring Max?”

Erin purses her lips together. “No. I don’t want him to have to wait by himself in the car. I’ll see him when I get to the house.”

“Okay.” Ella nods. “There’s not much in your room. Just that one bag of stuff. I did get some sheets and make the bed though.”

Erin quirks an eyebrow. “Oh, really.”

Ella ducks her head shyly. “I mean, yeah.”

Erin briefly wonders where Ella has been sleeping. But thinks probably in her own bed cuz Erin hasn’t even been to the house yet, let alone slept in her own bed. “Well, thanks babe. I can’t wait to use it.”

Ella’s eyes get wide and Erin laughs. “Not like that. Well, yeah, like that. But to sleep too.” Erin smirks. “Ya know, it’s rather easy to get you to get all embarrassed and squirm sometimes.”

Ella just shrugs.

“Cat got your tongue?” Usually Erin can’t get Ella to shut up. One of the only time that happens is when Ella is embarrassed.

Ella sighs. “I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”

Erin agrees and they sit there quietly just looking at each other for a while before Erin says she should get to bed so she doesn’t miss her alarm in the morning. Ella would hate for that to happen and for Erin to miss her flight. That would only delay Erin’s arrival.

* * *

 

Ella pulls the car into the driveway and shuts off the engine. “You ready to meet our roommates?” Ella asks.

“Yeah.”

Ella reaches for Erin’s hand and brings it to her lips. “Let’s go in.” She gets out of the car and reaches into the back seat for Erin’s bag. The next thing Ella hears is barking. She looks up and sees Max running towards the front of the car.

Erin is there to meet Max and pick him up. Max excitedly licks all over Erin’s face and she laughs with joy.

Ella smiles as she watches the reunion. She walks up to the front door where Bianca and Brittany stand and watch Erin and Max too. After a few seconds with Max, Erin looks over at her roommates. She walks over to the door with a huge grin on her face. “Hello.”

Bianca laughs awkwardly.

“It’s nice to finally meet you. I heard so much already. I feel like I know you.” Brittany grins.

Erin raises an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

“Yeah, this one won’t shut up about you and how great you are.” Bianca informs Erin as she hikes her thumb in Ella’s direction.

Ella just stands there with a smile and a shrug of the shoulders.

Erin shakes her head and walks up to the door. “Let’s get inside. It’s hot out here.”

They all laugh.

“I’ll let you guys do a little meet. I’m gonna take this upstairs.” Ella lifts Erin’s bag and then turns for the stairs.

The three wait until Ella disappears up the stairs. Erin switches Max to hold in her left arm and holds out her right hand to Bianca. “I’m Erin.” She grins goofily.

Bianca laughs and shakes Erin’s hand. “Bianca.”

“And you are Brittany, right?” Erin wiggles her eyebrows and reaches to shake Brittany’s hand.

Brittany rolls her eyes. “Yep but most people call me Britt.” She already likes Erin’s easy going, light hearted, silly nature.

“Good to know.” Erin nods. “Soooo…” Erin draws out. “What have I missed? Any craziness happen yet? I hope Ella has been behaving herself.”

“Ella?” Bianca questions. “She’s like- like- the most innocent person I’ve ever met.” She can’t see Ella not behaving.

Erin laughs. Hard. She has to bend over and put Max down. Erin puts her hands on her knees as she tries to stop laughing and catch her breath. “You-“ Erin struggles. “-don’t know her- very well yet.” Erin manages to straighten up. She still chuckles a little at the thought of an innocent Ella. But Erin knows where that sort of impression of Ella comes from. It’s the way Ella is before you really get to know her. At first, Erin thought that maybe Ella was innocent too. But that didn’t last long. It wasn’t a week after she first met Ella that she realized at Ella was in fact not innocent at all. Far from it, actually.

Bianca and Brittany stare at Erin as she has her little moment.

“Sorry, ladies. It’s been great to finally meet you both.” Erin looks over at the stairs. “And I look forward to getting to know each of you better but-“ Erin licks her lips. “-I should uh- unpack my bag. I’ll be back down in the little bit.” Erin smiles. “Excuse me.” She slips over to the stairs and heads up them. Erin has no idea where she is going.

“First room on the right.” Bianca yells as Erin is halfway up the stairs.

Erin smiles. She already likes Bianca. She goes to the door and puts her ear up against it to see if she can hear anything. She doesn’t. Erin slowly turns the knob and opens the door. She sees Ella standing in front of the dresser, clothes in her hand.

Ella is too busy putting Erin’s things away to hear Erin enter the room.

Erin tiptoes across the carpet and sneaks up behind Ella. She slips her hands around Ella’s waist from behind. Ella jumps in surprise but a smiles comes to her lips. Erin leans into Ella from behind, just holding her.

“Erin.” Ella sighs and spins around.

As soon as Ella is facing her, Erin leans in for a long kiss. “I’ve been waiting to do that.” Erin sighs and rests her forehead against Ella. “I’m here.” She whispers and looks into Ella’s eyes.

Ella giggles like a school girl. “I know.” Ella tilts her chin up and connects her lips with Erin’s again.

After, she snakes her arms around Erin and wraps them around to Erin’s back and holds onto her tight. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, babe.” Erin kisses Ella’s forehead. She starts rocking them back and forth.

Ella smiles and looks up at Erin as Erin walks them around the room a little. “Did you just leave them downstairs all alone?”

“Yeah.” Erin smirks.

“That’s kinda rude. Isn’t it?” Ella questions.

“I needed to come up here and unpack my bag.” Erin smirks.

“Oh, that’s what you’re calling this?” Ella raises her eyebrows at Erin.

Erin shrugs. “That was a little white lie.” Erin whispers and stops rocking them around. She leans in and kisses Ella again. Another long, passionate kiss. “I don’t think they believed me anyway. But, if one of us doesn’t go back downstairs soon they’re gonna start to get the wrong idea.”

“And what idea is that?” Ella grins.

“I think you know.” Erin grabs Ella’s ass for emphasis.

Ella laughs. “You wanna go or should I?”

“We could both go. My bag can wait. I left Max downstairs and I kinda wanna see him again.” Erin says.

“Okay.” Ella steps back from Erin. She holds out her hand and Erin takes it. Ella leads them out of the room and down the stairs.

Max comes running over and goes right to Erin. “Get her, buddy.” Ella says and lets Max have some time with his Mommy.

Ella goes to sit on the couch with Bianca and Brittany. Erin sits on the floor with Max and starts playing with him. A conversation starts up, first about Erin’s flights and travel, and then about the Cyprus Cup and goes on from there.

* * *

 

A few weeks later, Erin comes downstairs to the kitchen while Ella is taking a shower. “Good, you’re both here.”

“Where else would we be?” Bianca asks like a smartass.

Erin frowns. They are all still getting to know each other and getting used to living in the same house and each other’s routines. “Listen, today’s Ella’s birthday.”

“Yeah, she won’t shut up about how excited she is for it. We know.” Brittany says.

“Right.” Erin bites her lip. “I’m taking Ella out to dinner tonight but I wanted to do something else for her birthday but I need both your help.”

“What do you have in mind?” Brittany asks.

“I was thinking you two could talk to the girls on the team- round ‘em up- have them come over to the house.” Erin looks between Brittany and Bianca. “Think you can do that?”

Bianca nods. “Yeah.” Brittany adds.

“Good. I was thinking of having it be a surprise. Like, when we get back from dinner. Have the lights out. And everybody jump out.” Erin spitballs. She doesn’t have an exact plan.

“We’ve got this covered.” Brittany assures Erin.

“Awesome.” Erin smiles. “Thanks guys.” She slides over to the fridge and pulls it open. “Do we have any whipped cream? Like that spray can stuff?”

“Why?” Bianca asks, turning to look at Erin.

Erin bends at the waist and starts searching through the fridge. “I have an idea.” Erin shuts the fridge when she doesn’t find any. “It’s a thing we do on the National Team. Pie in the face.” Erin smirks.

Bianca chuckles. “Oh boy.”

“We’ll go to the store this afternoon and pick up a few things. You want us to like get a cake or something? Or do you have that covered?”

Erin nods. “Good idea. Get a cake. An ice cream cake, if possible. She likes those.” Erin thinks if she needs or wants anything else. “Whipped cream and a cake.” Erin repeats.

“Got it.” Brittany says with a nod. “This is going to be fun.”

“Have the pie ready for when we get back from dinner. That’s probably best. Maybe two of them. In case one misses or something. Dinner’s at seven. Probably get everybody here by eight. I’ll text you when we are on our way back to the house.”

“Sounds good.” Brittany says.

They all hear footsteps and the conversation is dropped. Ella walks into the kitchen and looks at her three roommates. “What’s going on here?” She questions at the suspicious silence.

Bianca jumps out of the chair she was sitting in and wraps Ella in a bear hug. “Happy Birthday!”

Ella smiles. “Thanks, B.”

“Yeah, Happy Birthday, Ella.” Brittany gets her birthday wish in. “Any big plans for today?” She asks.

Bianca lets go of Ella and Ella looks expectantly in Erin’s direction.

“Whaaaaat?” Erin holds her palms to the sky.

Brittany and Bianca laugh.

“Any plans?” Ella asks Erin.

Erin sighs dramatically, like it’s some big imposition to have to do something for Ella’s birthday. When in reality she just wants to do everything she can, within reason, for the girl. “Well, how about we start by going out to breakfast? We don’t have training til ten.”

Ella smiles.

“Alright. Let’s go.” Erin slips past Ella and out of the kitchen. Ella follows closely behind Erin.

* * *

 

They’re sitting at breakfast when Erin gets an idea. She pulls out her phone. “Slow down on that donut, man.” Erin says to get a laugh from Ella. It works because Ella laughs and Erin snaps a pic.

“Erin, I’m eating.” Ella brings her hand up to cover her mouth.

“I know.” Erin smirks and posts the picture to her social media.

“What are you doing?” Ella asks after she finishes chewing.

“Nothing.” Erin sets her phone down. “So?” Erin folds her hands together and sets them on the table top. “You wanna go out to dinner tonight?”

“Are you asking me on a date?” Ella questions.

“NO.” Erin makes an offended face. “I’m saying- I made reservations. We get dressed up and go out to eat to celebrate your birthday.” She ends with a smile. “You wanted to know what I had planned. Breakfast and dinner.” Erin shrugs.

“What about lunch?” Ella asks sassily.

Erin cocks her head to the side. “Well, seeing as we will be eating at the facility. And we don’t have to pay for that- NO.”

Ella laughs. “I’m kidding.”

Erin nods. “Dinner’s on me.”

“Do I get a birthday present?” Ella asks with a tinge of excitement in her voice.

“I don’t know. Do you think you deserve one?” Erin messes with Ella.

Ella frowns. “Yeah.” She whispers.

“Well, in that case, I might have something for you.” Erin smirks. “But you’ll have to wait until we return from practice.”

* * *

 

Ella has received birthday wishes from everyone she’s seen today. She’s feeling great, light, and well-loved and appreciated.

The team is having lunch at the facility when Erin stands up. She clears her throat and starts on a rendition of Happy Birthday. She coaxes the others to join in and soon the whole team is singing Happy Birthday to Ella.

Ella blushes but there’s a huge grin on her face the whole time. “Thanks, guys.” She says when the song finishes.

* * *

 

Erin gets out of the shower and is on her way to her room to get ready for dinner when she is confronted by Ella in the hallway. “I think you promised me a present.” Ella says.

“I didn’t promise anything.” Erin holds the top of her towel more securely. “I said I might have something.”

Ella puts her hand on Erin’s chest, above where the towel is covering. She pushes Erin up against the wall and smirks. “I know you have something.” She stares into Erin’s eyes.

Erin raises a challenging eyebrow. “Oh yeah?”

Ella looks down and moves her hand. She curls her fingers into the top of Erin’s towel, right next to where Erin’s hand is holding it up. “Yeah.” Ella tightens her grip and even gives the towel a little tug.

“You wouldn’t.” Erin says.

Ella tilts her head to the side and raises both of her eyebrows in a silent ‘wouldn’t I’.

Erin takes Ella’s threat for real. “Okay, fine.” Ella releases Erin’s towel and takes a step back. “It’s in my closet.” Erin says.

Ella walks away from Erin, going into Erin’s room. Erin follows. “Hey, wait.” Erin says as Ella goes for the closet. “Let me get it.” Erin stops Ella.

Ella waits and looks over her shoulder at Erin. Erin comes over and opens up the closet door. “Sit on the bed. Face the other wall.” Erin instructs. Ella pouts but does as she’s told. She sits on the bed and waits. Ella listens as the closet door opens and she hears Erin rummaging around in the closet. Erin gets what she’s looking for. “Okay, close your eyes. It’s not wrapped.”

Ella nods and closes her eyes.

Erin comes around the bed, holding Ella’s birthday present in one hand. “Okay, open your eyes.”

Ella opens her eyes and looks at the present in Erin’s right hand. Her eyes flicker to Erin’s as a smile comes to her lips.

Erin stands there, present in hand, grinning back at Ella.

Ella stands up and goes over to Erin. She takes the banjo from Erin’s hand and starts to examine it closely.

“What do you think?” Erin asks.

Ella looks up from the banjo to Erin. “This is so cool.” Ella grins toothily.

“Yeah.” Erin shrugs. “I thought you might like it.”

Ella sets the banjo behind herself on the bed and turns back to Erin. “Thank you, baby. I love it.” Ella wraps her arms around Erin.

Erin puts an arm around Ella, but only one because the other is still holding her towel to make sure it doesn’t fall down.

* * *

 

They come home after Ella’s birthday dinner to a surprise from the girls on the team and Ella gets a pie in the face from Erin. The girls from the team stick around and everyone has a piece of cake. But they don’t stick around for too long. Ella won’t let them.

Ella, politely and without anyone feeling like they were being rushed out of the house, gets everyone to leave. She has a few things she wants to do before her birthday is over.

Ella comes out of the bathroom after brushing her teeth for the night. She goes into her room and changes out of her clothes from dinner into something for the night. Ella then makes her way down the hall to Erin’s room.

Ella knocks her fingers against the door as she opens it up.

Erin is sitting in bed reading her current book as she waits for Ella to join her in bed. She looks up from her book when Ella opens the door. “Hey.” Erin smiles over at Ella.

Ella smiles and comes in the room, closing the bedroom door. She goes over to the bed. Erin raises an eyebrow when Ella comes over to her side. “What are you doing?”

Ella smirks and gets up on the bed. She climbs on top of Erin’s lap and grabs Erin’s book, folding over the page, and setting it on the nightstand next to the bed. “What are you doing?” Erin asks again.

Ella goes in for a deep kiss. At the same time, Ella slips a hand under Erin’s shirt, stroking over the skin of her stomach.

“Ella, it’s late. We have train-“ Erin’s voice gets high and cuts out as Ella palms over her breast. “-ing in the morning.” Erin barely recovers.

“This won’t take long.” Ella husks and sticks her hand down Erin’s pants.

“Holy shit.” Erin whispers. She is a little surprised at how bold Ella is being. She surprised that Ella is taking control and taking the lead. So far, during their sexual adventures, Ella has been rather timid when it comes to bedroom activities. Ella has mostly just followed Erin’s lead.

After Ella has ‘finished’ and has Erin laying there panting and in a mess of limp limbs, she wraps Erin’s earlobe between her lips, sucking, and pulling. “Thank you.” She whispers in Erin’s ear. Ella moves to Erin’s lips and kisses her with everything she’s got.

Ella rolls off of Erin onto her side of the bed. She slips under the sheet and lays on her side. “Today was easily one of my favorite birthdays. Ever. I’ll never forget it. Thank you, Erin. From the bottom of my heart.”

Erin licks her lips after finally catching her breath and looks over at Ella. “You’re welcome. I love you. And I should probably thank you for- for- just now.” Ella smirks and Erin rolls so she can kiss Ella. “I’ll be right back. You get ready for bed.”

“I am ready for bed. In bed.” Ella says cockily.

“Don’t be a brat.” Erin smiles and kisses Ella again. “Be right back.”

Erin leaves the room and Ella rolls onto her back. She stares up at the ceiling and replaying possibly one of the, if not, the best day of her life. Ella lets out a long, content sigh as Erin reenters the room and climbs back into bed. Erin curls into Ella’s side. “Goodnight, my beautiful lady.”

“Goodnight, Erin.” Ella leans in for one finally kiss for the day.

Erin smiles into the kiss and then snuggles into Ella for the night.


	31. Chapter 31

The season is up and going. It’s after Houston’s first game in mid-April. Brittany has been injured and things around the house are crazy. They have all been doing a little extra around the house since Brittany’s been laid up.

Ella tries to help out in any way that she can. She mostly feels bad that Brittany will miss the whole season with a torn ACL. Erin knows the feeling, having gone through two ACL tears now, and can sympathizes with Brittany. Bianca mostly thinks that it sucks for Britt and does everything she can to cheer her up.

The intensity in the household has been cranked up since the season has started. And between Ella and Erin things have been a little more intense than usually. There have been arguments over little things. Stupid things that shouldn’t really turn into arguments, but for whatever reason they do. Ella and Erin have never spent so much time together and maybe that’s a factor. With them living in the same house, sharing the same space, riding to and from training every day, and even spending time together at training, it’s a lot. It’s an adjustment. That’s probably a factor. There are things that they don’t necessarily agree on and those things turn into debates and arguments.

They go out to dinner one night, just the two of them. No teammates. No distractions. Or that’s how it is supposed to be.

The drive back to the house is quiet. Erin had a great time. Ella is always great company and they had a very good meal. Nothing to complain about as far as Erin is concerned.

Erin unlocks the door and enters the house. She sets her keys down on the table by the door and turns to Ella. “I’m going up to my room. You coming?” Erin asks Ella.

“No. Actually, I’m going to bed.” Ella replies with a bite to her words.

Erin furrows her brows together in confusion. She wonders what’s with Ella’s seemingly sudden change in mood. She noticed that Ella was quite in the car but thought that the girl was just tired. Ella usually gets quite when she’s tired. “What’s up with you?” Erin questions this mood swing.

“I’ll go to bed. Why don’t you go back to the restaurant and flirt with our waitress some more.” Ella says nastily and turns away from Erin.

Erin is shocked by the accusation. Her mouth hangs open for a few seconds as she stares at Ella’s back. “Is that what you thought? Why do you think that?” Erin asks shakily.

“Well, yeah. You laughing and joking and smiling at her. When she came with the check and you snatched it out of her hand all playfully.” Ella says, her words venomous. “You even winked at her when she went to run your card.”

“She recognized me and joked that she was going to give me a discount. I was just joking back and being friendly.” Erin defends herself and her actions. She doesn’t want to get into an argument and feels like Ella is blowing this out of proportion.

“Is that what they’re calling it now.” Ella turns to face Erin again. “Friendly.” She uses air quotes around the word. “I know what I saw. For fucks sake, I was sitting right there.” Ella raises her voice.

“You clearly don’t, because that’s not what happened.” Erin raises her voice to match Ella’s. She takes a step forward. There are only a few feet in between them now. “Do you think I would really do that right in front of you?” Erin challenges.

It’s clearly the wrong choice of words to use. Erin sees the anger build in Ella’s eyes. Her face gets all red too. “So what your saying is- if I wasn’t there- you would have openly flirted with our waitress.” Ella yells.

Erin tries to back track quickly but knows that she’s in a pickle. “No. That’s not what I meant. What I mean is-“

But, Ella doesn’t let her finish. “Save it. I don’t want to hear it.” She growls. Ella balls her fists at her sides, turns, and starts to walk away from Erin.

Erin doesn’t let her get too far and grabs Ella by the wrist, stopping her. “No. I want to make it clear that what you think you saw, is not what you saw. I don’t know what I did to make you think that I was flirting with our waitress, but I wasn’t. Ella, I love you.” Erin says hoping that will resolve the issue.

It doesn’t.

Ella’s anger increases as she spins around to face Erin. “Do you?” She spits out and pulls her wrist from Erin’s grasp. Ella folds her arms over her chest in a defensive position. “And don’t try and tell me what I saw. I’m the one who saw it. I know what I saw.” Ella yells angrily. She’s mad and is sticking to her guns.

Erin is desperate to convince Ella that she’s wrong. “I do love you. You know that.”

Ella raises an eyebrow. “Do I?” She challenges.

Erin starts to get more upset the longer this goes on. “Why are you doing this?” She pleads for an answer. None of this is making any sense to Erin. She doesn’t know what’s happening right now.

Ella just shrugs.

Erin’s deflates, defeated. Her shoulders slump. “I love you.” She says weakly.

“Well, you shouldn’t be flirting with other people then.” Ella is adamant on her position.

Erin gives up. “You know what, screw you.” She spits out. Erin has had enough of this. She tried to defend herself against these false accusations that Ella is throwing at her, but Ella won’t have any of it. So, she done. Erin stomps off, up the stairs. She goes to her room and slams the door shut.

Ella drops her arms from her chest with a long, sad sigh. She goes over to the couch and sits down.

Brittany comes out of her room when she hears Erin’s bedroom door slam. She heard the shouting that was going on downstairs. She hops downstairs with her crutches and goes into the living room to see Ella sitting on the couch with her elbows on her knees. She’s bent over with her head hung low.

“Everything alright?” Britt asks.

Ella sighs and looks up and over at Britt. “No.” She shakes her head.

“Is there anything I can do?” Britt follows with.

“No.” Ella shakes her head again.

“I’ll be in my room if you need anything.” Britt offers. She doesn’t know what they were yelling about. And she knows it’s really none of her business. But she lives with both of them and wants peace in the house. Britt crutches her way into the kitchen to leave Ella alone.

Ella doesn’t know what she’s doing. She doesn’t know why she’s doing this. She doesn’t know why she’s doing this to Erin. It doesn’t make sense, but Ella still did it. She picked a fight with Erin over something that may or may not have happened. In Ella’s mind, Erin was more than just being friendly with their waitress. In Ella’s mind, it was more like flirting. In Ella’s mind, that’s what she saw and heard. That’s what it seemed like from her point of view and she’s not going to stand for it. Ella is not going to let somebody cheat on her or hurt her like that. She wants to believe what Erin says, but she also knows what she saw with her own two eyes, and to her it was flirting. And, to her, that’s unacceptable.

Its sabotage. She’s trying to sabotage her relationship. Whether Ella realizes it or not.

Ella sits on the couch for a little bit thinking about what just happened. She gets up and goes to her room after a few minutes. She stops in the upstairs hallway, her hand on her doorknob, and looks over her shoulder at Erin’s door down the hall. It’s not often that they sleep apart. Ella frowns and enters her bedroom for the night.

Meanwhile, Erin is in her bedroom. She has her headphones on, drowning out the world around her. She lays in bed, on her side, with Max pulled tightly to her chest as tears stream out of her eyes. She talks to Max. “I don’t know if I can do this, Max.” She says in reference to her relationship with Ella.

It’s gotten rather difficult since they’ve been in Houston together. She doesn’t know why. She thinks maybe it’s being around each other all the time or something like that. But Erin knows that there are more arguments and discussions on things that they don’t agree about. She thinks that if things don’t get better soon she doesn’t know if she can continue with Ella. And that hurts more than anything. Erin doesn’t want to be in another relationship that isn’t working though. She doesn’t know where this jealousy and this accusation, that Ella has, is coming from. She knows she wasn’t flirting with their waitress. At least, she doesn’t think she was and if that’s how it came off to Ella it wasn’t intentional. But, Erin clearly doesn’t have eyes for anyone other than Ella. But Ella didn’t want to listen to anything she had to say so she doesn’t know what she’s going to do.

Max squirms and tries to lick Erin’s chin. He doesn’t like when his mom is upset and he tries to comfort her. He misses though and gets her neck instead. It makes Erin chuckle a little and she cracks a small smile. Erin sighs and holds Max for a long time.

She waits until it gets very late and she knows everyone in the house is asleep. She doesn’t want to see anyone tonight, feeling embarrassed if Bianca or Britt saw her after what happened downstairs. She’s sure that her roommates heard her and Ella yelling. Erin takes Max out of her room. They go for a late night walk before returning and going to bed.

* * *

 

The next morning, it’s tense in the house as the quartet get ready for training. Bianca and Brittany can feel the tension in the air between Erin and Ella. Uncomfortable would be another good word to use to describe the situation.

Ella drives the group to training. Erin sits in the backseat with her headphones on her ears and a scowl on her face. Ella turns up the radio and no one says a word. The three go one way and Brittany goes another. She’s got a doctor’s appointments for her knee.

The only person at training that realizes that things are a bit awkward is Bianca. But, everyone notices something is off when Ella drills a ball at Erin at warp speed. Bianca is the only one who knows why. Well, she doesn’t know why but she knows more than the rest of the team.

The foursome gets back in the car at the end of the training day and Ella drives them back to the house in the same manner that they drove to training in the morning.

Erin’s mood hasn’t changed. She’s usually light and upbeat but everyone noticed that she was in a bad mood all day, especially Ella. She knows she is the one who dimmed that light and she does feels guilty about that. Ella looks in the rearview mirror and sees Erin sitting there. Erin doesn’t have her headphones on this time but she has that same mad scowl on her face that she’d had all day. Ella knows that’s because of her and that she’s going to have to do something to remedy the situation. She doesn’t know what because she’s still mad at Erin for flirting with their waitress. But, she also doesn’t want to see Erin mad and crabby.

They get back to the house and Erin gets out of the car immediately. Ella wants to catch Erin before she locks herself in her room for the remainder of the day. “Erin, wait.” Ella says as she scrambles from the car.

Erin doesn’t wait. She goes into the house. She drops her bag by the front door and grabs Max and his leash for a walk and leaves.

Ella sighs as Erin walks away.

“What did you do?” Bianca speaks up. “Erin’s so mad.” She adds. “I thought she was going to crush the balls from squeezing them so hard.”

Ella nods.

Bianca helps Brittany into the house.

Ella gets her bag from the trunk and goes to the house. She puts her bag up in her room and comes back down right away. Ella goes outside and sits on the front steps and waits for Erin to come back.

Max and Erin are gone a long time and Ella debates giving up and going back inside but she knows that she needs to talk to Erin. What she’s going to say, though, she doesn’t know. But, Ella waits until Erin gets back.

Erin and Max walk up the sidewalk. Erin looks at Ella and narrows her eyes at her. “What do you want?” She asks, knowing that Ella wanted something before she took Max out.

“Can we talk?” Ella asks.

“Are you going to accuse me of more nasty things?” Erin says bitterly.

Ella looks down at the ground and shakes her head.

“I’m gonna feed Max. You have that much time.” Erin tells Ella. She slips past Ella and goes into the house with Max. They go into the kitchen.

Ella thinks that’s not very much time to talk and hurries after Erin. The seconds are quickly wasting away. When Ella enters the kitchen Bianca is in there, sitting at the table, eating dinner. Erin is already getting Max’s bowl and food out of the cabinet. Ella looks over at Bianca and nods her head towards the door to get her to leave.

Bianca sees Ella’s strange gesture and gets up and makes a quick exit.

Ella swallows her nerves and takes a deep breath. “Erin, I may have over exaggerated yesterday.” She starts with.

“May have?” Erin chuckles cynically. She gets a scoop of food for Max and sets this food bowl on the floor. She picks up the water bowl and goes over to the sink.

“Okay, I did over exaggerate.” Ella confesses solemnly.

“You accused me of flirting with the waitress and then accused me of not loving you.” Erin says as she gets Max some fresh water.

Ella nods. She knows what happened. She doesn’t really want or need a reminder.

Erin sets the water bowl down on the floor next to Maxwell and his food. Ella searches for something more to say but doesn’t know what. She watches as Erin puts the dog food away and knows she running out of time.

Erin turns to face Ella. “Anything else?” She questions.

Ella presses her lips together tightly and tries to think of the best thing to say.

When Ella doesn’t say anything, Erin brushes past her and leaves the kitchen, going up to her room.

That leaves Ella standing there dumbly in the kitchen and Max eating his dinner. “I think I fucked up, Max.” Ella mumbles and watches Max eat. She waits for him to finish and they go to the living room together and sit on the couch. Ella turns on the tv for a distraction but it turns into background noise as she thinks. Max sits on her lap, taking his after dinner nap. Ella lays down after a few minutes and pulls Max with her, he cuddles close to Ella’s chest and she tries to focus on something over than the thoughts in her head. She watches the news on the tv and falls asleep after a few more minutes. With a poor night’s sleep, the night before, and training today, Ella is worn out.

Erin comes downstairs after a while to get something to eat for dinner. She sees Ella and Max asleep together on the couch. Erin goes over and takes the blanket from the back of the couch and covers Ella up with it. “Come on, Maxwell.” She takes Max with her and goes into the kitchen. “You’re a good boy to keep Ella company.” She sets Max down so she can get some food and he gets drink from his bowl. When she’s ready, Erin grabs Max under one arm and her food in the other and goes back up to her room.

Ella wakes up twenty minutes later. She looks around groggily and wonders where the blanket came from. She knows where it came from because it’s the one they keep on the back of the couch. Ella wonders who covered her up with it though. She remembers laying down with Max but doesn’t see him anywhere now. That’s her biggest clue. She knows. Ella rubs at her eyes and sits up. Everything else around her is unchanged. She shuts off the tv and folds the blanket up, returning it to its spot, and goes into the kitchen to find something to eat.

Brittany is in the kitchen when Ella enters. “Hey, Sleepyhead.” She grins happily.

“Did you cover me up?” Ella asks. She wants to be sure.

Brittany shakes her head and Ella nods. She goes over to the fridge and opens it up. Ella isn’t that hungry but she knows she has to eat something. She makes a chicken breast and some rice and then sits at the table to eat. Ella only eats about half of her food before she can’t eat anymore. She drops her fork in frustration and brings her hands up to her face, finally breaking down.

“What the fuck am I doing?” Ella questions out loud.

Brittany doesn’t know if Ella is talking to her or if it is more of a rhetorical question. She’s hesitant to answer and doesn’t quite know how to answer. “Eating dinner.” She opts for humor. She’s never heard Ella curse and it’s a bit shocking.

Ella looks over at Brittany between her fingers. “With Erin.” She clarifies a little.

“Oh.” Brittany presses her lips tightly together. “Having problems?” She asks, as if she doesn’t already know the answer to that question.

Ella nods. “I’m screwing everything up.”

“How so?” Brittany asks. She leans on the table with both of her elbows and rocks forward towards the girl across from her, letting Ella know that she’s open to talk or to listen.

Ella removes her hands from her face and focuses her eyes down at her plate. “I think I’m doing things to get into arguments, to pick fights.”

“Why?” Brittany asks the obvious.

“I don’t know.” Ella shrugs. “To test Erin.”

“Why do you need to test her?” Brittany asks. She asks the most obvious and basic of questions in an attempt to help Ella out, to get Ella to see what she is doing and saying.

Ella shrugs lamely again. “I don’t know. To see if she’s going to stick around or bail on me.”

Brittany hums. “Do you not trust her?”

Ella looks up and over at Brittany. “I trust her.” She sighs. “I think it’s me that I don’t trust.” She huffs in frustration. “We both knew that this wasn’t going to be easy. We aren’t the same people.” Ella says.

“I would hope not.” Brittany jokes with a sly smile.

“We don’t have similar beliefs. We don’t agree on a lot of topics. We don’t have similar backgrounds. We didn’t grow up the same.” Ella whines, trying to think of all the differences between her and Erin.

“So?” Brittany shrugs.

Ella looks at Brittany like she has two heads. “So. What do you mean so?” Ella asks.

“Do you love her?” Brittany asks point blank. Ella nods. “And do you trust her?” Ella nods again. “And are any of those things you just mentioned deal breakers?”

Ella shakes her head. “No.” There aren’t really any deal breakers as far as Ella is concerned.

“What’s the real issue here, Ella? You need to think about that. You need to think about where all this insecurity is coming from. You need to figure that out and if that’s a deal breaker then so be it. But don’t project other things to the forefront and ignore the real problem. And once you figure that out, you’ll know what to do.”

“Okay.” Ella mumbles.

“And don’t be nasty to Erin if she didn’t do anything wrong.” Brittany advises.

Ella nods solemnly. “How do you know all this stuff?” She asks.

Brittany shrugs. “I spend a lot of time in thought.” She smiles. “I don’t know. My mom always says I’m wise beyond my years. So maybe that’s it.”

Ella stands from the chair. “Thanks, Britt.” Ella puts the rest of her dinner in a Tupperware and goes to her room.

* * *

 

When Ella emerges from her room it’s about an hour after she entered it. She sat in her room and thought about the nasty things she said and did to Erin. Ella feels horrible about it and knows she needs to apologize and remedy the situation.

Ella walks down the hall and knocks on Erin’s door. She waits to see if Erin will open the door and let her in. Ella waits for a few moments but doesn’t get any response. She turns around sadly to go back to her room. Ella gets to the door when she hears Erin’s door open up. Ella looks over and sees Erin peeking her head out the door. She spins around quickly. “Erin.” She makes a move towards Erin’s door but Erin closes it in her face quickly and locks the door.

Ella goes and leans up against the door desperately. She slaps at it gently with an open hand. “Erin, please. I need to talk to you.” She says through the door. “Please. I know you’re mad at me. Just open the door.” Ella listens and hears Erin moving about inside the room but doesn’t know if she’s going to come to the door or not.

Ella stands there but doesn’t get a response after several minutes. She knocks lightly on the door and talks through it again. “I’ll stand out here all night if I have to.” Ella threatens. She still doesn’t get anything from Erin. After several minutes of silence, Ella sits down on the floor at the bottom of the door. She will wait. She knows Erin has to come out at some point. At the very least, Max needs to go out again before bed.

Ella sits with her back to the door. She curls up into a ball. Her knees to her chest with her arms wrapped tightly around them. Ella sets her chin on her kneecaps and waits.

Britt comes by after a few minutes. She doesn’t say anything to Ella but just smiles as she walks by. Ella switches to lean up against the corner of the doorframe after sitting in that first position for a long time. She puts her legs out in front of her and gets comfortable, folding her arms over her chest, and resting the back of her head against the doorframe. She could potentially be there for a long time.

Bianca comes upstairs for bed and gives Ella a thumbs up as she passes by. Eventually, Ella gets bored and tired. She starts yawning as time ticks past her regular bedtime. It doesn’t take long after the yawning starts for Ella’s eyes to drupe. She fights to keeps them open but eventually they stay closed as she falls asleep.

Ella is awakened when the bedroom door is pulled open and she fall backwards. She catches herself before she falls all the way to the floor though.

“Jesus.” Erin mumbles and frowns down at Ella. She had her headphones on and couldn’t hear anything other than her music as she was drawing. Erin lost track of time and now has to let Max out before bed and brush her teeth. She didn’t know Ella was sitting out in the hallway. “What are you doing?” She asks Ella.

Ella quickly scrambles to her feet. A little dazed after sleep but she remembers her mission. “Waiting- for you.” She mumbles and rubs awkwardly at her right eye.

“Why?” Erin asks.

“I need to talk to you.” Ella says.

“How long have you been out here?” Erin asks.

Ella shrugs. “Since earlier- since when you opened the door and saw it was me.” Erin frowns. “Can I talk to you?” Ella asks and Erin doesn’t give an answer right away.

“I’m taking Max out. I’ll be back.” Erin has Max under her arm and steps out into the hallway. Ella lets her go but wonders on Erin’s words and if they mean that Ella will get an opportunity to talk to Erin when she gets back.

Ella waits some more. She goes to the bathroom and washes her face and then goes to her room to change her clothes into pajamas. After she’s done with that, Ella goes back to wait outside Erin’s room. She sits on the floor again. Ella doesn’t want to go into Erin’s room, especially if Erin doesn’t want her in there. Ella doesn’t want to intrude or assume anything. For all she knows, Erin doesn’t even want to talk to her.

Erin comes back up the stairs. Max leads the way to the bedroom. He stops and sniffs at Ella before entering the room. Erin follows Max into her room without a word to the girl whose sitting with her back to the wall to the left of her door.

Ella stands up and moves to stand in the doorway. “Can I?” She asks, pointing into the room.

Erin nods and Ella’s lips curl at the corners. It’s progress. Erin sits down in her desk chair and looks over at Ella with a quirked eyebrow. Ella stands awkwardly just inside the door. “Shut the door.” Erin says. Ella does as she’s told. “What do you want to talk about? It’s late.” Erin grumbles.

“I- uh-“ Ella’s stumped for what to say again.

Erin sighs out a frustrated breath. “I don’t have time for stuttering. Do you not want to do this anymore? If so, just tell me. I can take it.” She really can’t take it but Erin would prefer it if Ella wanted to end things between them that she would just tell her flat out and get it over with so Erin can move on. They’re only a few months in and it would be better now than at some time in the future. She knows falling for a ‘straight girl’ was dumb but she couldn’t help it.

Erin stands up when Ella doesn’t say anything. She has her answer. Erin goes over to the door and opens it. “Get out.” Erin stares at the back of Ella’s head.

Ella stands there, rooted to her spot, with her back to Erin. She doesn’t want any of this. She doesn’t want to end things with Erin. She doesn’t want to leave. But it seems like Erin is making all the decisions for them right now. Ella’s composure is quickly slipping. She tries to take deep breathes to even out her breathing and her now pounding heart. She’s upset and its only seconds before the tears start falling. Ella starts wiping at her eyes and starts sniffling in an attempt to get the tears to stop but it’s of no use.

Erin rolls her eyes when she hears the sniffles begin. She knows Ella isn’t going to go.

“I- I messed up.” Ella blubbers. “And I- I need to- fix it.” Ella steps over to the bed and sits down on the edge. “I need to talk to you, Erin.” Ella dares to look over at Erin.

Erin meets Ella’s eyes and sees the sad, sorry look that Ella is giving her. She nods and closes the door. Erin goes back to her desk chair and sits down. She doesn’t want to get too close to Ella right now. She can’t.

“I messed up.” Ella wipes the tears that fall from her eyes. “I did a bad thing and I’m sorry. I’m admitting it right now. I was wrong. I’m not sure what I saw last night at the restaurant or if I was making it up in my head. I’m sorry. I should have trusted you. I should have believed you when you said that you weren’t flirting with her.” Ella sniffles. “I was jealous. You were giving her more attention than I was comfortable with. But-“ Ella rubs the snot from under her nose. “-I should have trusted you. And I didn’t.” She sniffles, trying to suck the snot up into her nose, unsuccessfully.

Erin gets up to get a couple of tissues and hands them to Ella. “Thanks.” Ella says and blows her nose. Erin sits back down and waits for Ella to compose herself. “This is harder than I thought it was going to be. I mean, we both knew it wasn’t going to be easy but-“ Ella sighs. “And I’m not very good at expressing myself sometimes. I need to work on that. But, I don’t want this to end. Erin, I’m just having a difficult time right now. And I’m taking it out on you and I know that’s not fair. And I know I shouldn’t be doing it. And I’m sorry.” Ella looks over to Erin with a teeny tiny smile. “Can you forgive me?” Ella asks.

Erin pulls her lips to one side. “I don’t know.” She says matter of factly.

“Oh.” Ella is crushed. She thought that if she just apologized and said she was sorry and explained what happened and what’s going on, that her and Erin would be okay. That they could figure it out. Now she’s starting to think it wasn’t enough. That Erin has reached the final straw and doesn’t want to be with her anymore.

“Ella, I don’t know if I can do this.” Erin rubs her palms up and down her thighs. “What happened yesterday. What you accused me of? I don’t know if I can do that. That really hurt. You accused me of not loving you. I don’t know how you can say that. Do you not feel like I love you?” Erin questions. She doubts everything she’s been doing and how she’s been showing Ella that she loves her. She wonders if it’s not enough.

Ella looks down at the floor. “I just said that to hurt you. I got caught up. I wanted to fight. It’s what I know how to do. And I do know you love me. I’m really sorry.” Ella looks back at a rather broken down Erin.

Erin nods. She takes Ella’s words for what they are. “I don’t like fighting. With anyone. I don’t like confrontation.”

“I know.” Ella nods. She likes that about Erin. Erin is a calm person with a calm presence and demeanor. Erin is a lover, not a fighter.

“And I don’t like fighting with you.” Erin says and looks down at the floor. “You really hurt me. Questioning if I love you or not. How can you question that? I’ve done nothing but love you from the beginning. Through everything. Through distance and fears and reservations.” The tears start to form in Erin’s eyes.

“I know.” Ella says. “I’m sorry. I just- sometimes- I don’t know. I can’t explain it really. I love you, Erin. So so much. It doesn’t even make sense to me. I shouldn’t- I know I shouldn’t. I should be thanking you and making sure you know that I love you. I should be thanking you for loving me the way you do. Through everything. The distance, the fears, the reservations for both of us. Erin, I need you to know that I love you. I’ll say it until I’m blue in the face if I have to.”

Erin nods down to floor. She won’t look over at Ella. She can’t.

Ella gets off the bed and kneels on the floor. She crawls across the floor on her knees until she reaches Erin. Ella looks up into Erin’s eyes and sees the tears there. “Oh, don’t cry.” Ella sighs. “Erin, please. I’ll show you too.” Ella puts her hands on each of Erin’s knees. “Actions speak louder.” She looks up into Erin’s eyes. A few tears have silently fallen. “Please forgive me, Erin. I can’t promise that I’m not going to mess up again- cuz I’m good at that.” Ella says in a self-deprecating tone, hoping to get at least a smile out of Erin. “But, I love you and I want this to work. You’re good for me. So good.” Ella tells her. “You’ve changed my life. You’ve made me a better person. I still have my problems and my issues. But, I have you and you have done so much for me.” Ella reaches up and brushes away the tears from underneath Erin’s eyes.

Erin wraps her hands around Ella’s wrist while they are near her face. She nods and knows what Ella is saying is honest. And she knows that she doesn’t want to let Ella go. It’s probably going be a bumpy road in the days and weeks ahead but she knows that if they work and communicate with each other everything should work out in the end.

“You have to promise me something.” Erin says.

“Anything.” Ella is eager.

“Promise me that you won’t ever accuse me of not loving you or question our love. I know, for me, I don’t mess around with the L word. When I say it, I mean it. No ifs, ands, or butts. I will reassure you right now and whenever you need it that I love you. That I will continue to love you. And that you don’t need to and shouldn’t doubt that.”

Ella’s eyes tear up again, after, what feels like just moments after she stopped crying. “Promise.” Ella bites her lip. She pushes Erin’s knees apart with her hands and moves forward into the space between them. “I love you, Erin.” Ella says with a relieved sigh and leans into Erin.

It’s been a long twenty-four or so hours for both. Agonizing. Tense. Angry. Heated. Nerve-wracking. Uncomfortable.

“Can we go to bed now?” Ella whispers. Fighting with the person you love is exhausting.

Erin chuckles. “Sure.” She holds her hands out, palms up for Ella to take. Ella places her hands in Erin’s and Erin helps her to her feet.

Ella takes a step back and lets Erin stand up. Ella takes Erin’s hand and leads her over to the bed. She pulls back the covers for Erin and then rounds the other side of the bed in a hurry and gets in on the left. Ella lays on her left side and waits for Erin to get into bed. Erin takes her time. She takes her shorts off before climbing into bed. Erin finds her spot; the spot Ella has created for her. Erin backs up into Ella and Ella wraps her arm around Erin and pulls her to her chest and holds her tight, being the big spoon. “I love you, Erin. Sweet dreams.” Ella whispers in Erin’s ear and then kisses the back of her neck softly.

“I love you. Goodnight, beautiful.” Erin says easily. She really needs this right now. Ella holding her and asking to help heal the hurt, the wounds that have been created.

They have a lot to work on. But, now is time for rest. Now is time to put a pause to all that. They can start the next day on the work that needs to be done but for right now they just need to be in the same space together.


	32. Chapter 32

The first road trip of the season is to Boston. That’s where the Houston’s first goal in club history is scored. It’s also where Houston gets its first win.

The feeling in the locker room after the game is one of pure joy and happiness, a certain sense of pride, and a huge sense of accomplishment. There is a feeling that something has been achieved and that there is so much potential for the future. It’s a feeling not many players get to experience. The team is brand new. An expansion team. The players on the team are a part of something special and a first goal and a first win are special achievements for the team.

The three goal scorers are all celebrated in the locker room after the game. Slightly more so than everyone else but the whole team is celebrated.

Things are a little calmer on the bus back to the hotel. There is still an excited chatter though. The team gets back to the hotel and everyone goes to their rooms.

Ella is in her room and is lying in bed watching tv when there is a knock on the door. She looks over at her roommate, Becky, and shrugs. Ella gets up and goes to answer the door. She looks through the little peep hole and smiles at who she sees on the other side of the door.

Erin is looking up and down the hallway nervously. She doesn’t want someone to catch her out in the hallway after curfew. She hopes that the door opens soon.

It does, as Ella pulls the door open and Erin steps into the room. “What are you doing here?” Ella asks immediately.

“Who is it?” Becky asks from across the room.

“Erin.” Ella says.

Erin steps into the room further so that she’s visible to Becky. “Hi.” She waves. “I hope I’m not bothering you. This won’t take long.”

Becky smile kindly. “No, you’re fine.” She tells her captain.

“Okay.” Erin steps back into the little hall, secluding herself and Ella. She wraps her fingers around Ella’s bicep.

“What are you doing?” Ella asks again.

Erin grins from ear to ear. There have been some challenges with starting this new team but today Erin feels like all of those challenges were worth it. The outcome of the game proves that. “You didn’t think I wouldn’t congratulate you on your goal. First goal, may I add.”

“It’s a team game. A team win.” Ella tries to brush it off as not being a big deal but in the back of her head she freaking excited that she’s the one who scored the first goal for the Dash.

“Don’t do that. You were great out there. Don’t take away from yourself. Ella, you’re in the history books now. Of all the goals you’ve scored in your career, game winners or otherwise, this one’s special.” Erin tells her.

“I guess.”

“You guess?” Erin rolls her eyes. “Becky, turn up the volume.”

“What? Why?” Becky questions from her bed.

“Just do it.” Erin tells Becky.

“Nike.” Ella says sassily.

“Shut up, you.” Erin frowns at Ella. “You’re just jealous of all my Adidas gear.”

“Yeah, right. Nike forever.” Ella pumps her fist in the air.

Erin rolls her eyes. “Anyway. I, as your captain, just wanted to come and congratulate you. Personally.”

“As my captain?” Ella grins.

“Yes.” Erin says and leans in for a kiss. “Congrats, babe.” Erin smiles slightly. “Have a goodnight. I’ll see you in the morning.” Erin kisses Ella soundly before releasing her arm and taking a step backwards.

“Goodnight.” Ella bites her lip. “I love you.” She says quietly.

“Love you, too.” Erin says and slips out the door.

Ella goes back over to her bed. “What was that all about?” Becky asks as Ella settles back into bed.

“I’m not exactly sure.” Ella smiles softly as she replays what just happened over again in her head.

Becky hums and doesn’t question it further. She heard the part where Erin was congratulating Ella on the first goal for the Dash but the rest of what happened, she has no idea.

Ella lays in bed thinking about Erin. She thinks about how lucky she is to have Erin in her life. She thinks about how special of a person Erin is. A unique, genuine, honest, caring, loving, giving person. It’s rare nowadays to find someone with all of those qualities and Ella feels like she’s hit the jackpot. The smile on her face reflects that.

It’s been a rough week for them after the fight they had after dinner a few days ago. There were many long talks after Ella apologized and they reconciled. But, it hasn’t been easy. Ella has had to open herself up further. To exposure her insecurities and her jealous feelings. Trust has had to be reestablished. And that’s slowly happening. Erin has done her part too. Being open about what she thinks they need to change and what they need to work on. One thing was never lost or forgotten though. And that is the love that they have for each other.

And Erin coming to Ella’s hotel room tonight, after the game, is really the icing on the cake after a difficult week.

* * *

 

The foursome is sitting around in the living room together one afternoon. A little bit of house bonding as Ella likes to call it. Bianca hates when Ella uses those words but enjoys spending time with her roommates no matter what they call it.

Ella has her laptop and the four are chatting and Ella is playing music from YouTube that she thinks adds to the ambiance in the room. Ella sees a song pop up into her suggested window and smiles. She knows the song. She likes the song. She clicks on the song.

There are a few seconds of silence between the previous song and when the new song starts and Ella waits patiently.

The song starts playing and Erin’s head whips around and she stares at Ella before the song gets two bars in. Erin recognizes the song from the first couple of notes. Ella smiles coyly in Erin’s direction.

“What’s going on?” Bianca asks. She sees the exchange between the two. She doesn’t recognize the song though.

“Just listen to the lyrics.” Brittany suggests.

_‘Hey, where did we go._  
Days when the rains came?  
Down in the hollow  
Playing a new game,  
Laughing and a running, hey, hey,  
Skipping and a jumping  
In the misty morning fog with  
Our, our hearts a thumping  
And you, my brown-eyed girl,  
You, my brown-eyed girl’

Bianca groans after the first verse of Van Morrison’s _Brown Eyed Girl_ finishes. “You’re so in love, it’s gross.”

Brittany laughs heartily. Ella just smiles and Erin shakes her head and rolls her eyes.

Ella lets the whole song play, already knowing what song she wants to play next. When the song finishes she clicks on another Van Morrison song.

_Have I Told You Lately_ starts playing and Bianca gets up after the first verse. She’s done. She can’t handle anymore sappy love songs from Ella. “That’s some hippie shit.” Bianca says as she leaves the room.

“No, it’s not.” Erin yells after her. “It’s Van Morrison.” She says with a smile as she sways back and forth in her seat to the music.

When the song ends, Erin gets up and goes over to Ella. She takes the computer from Ella.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Ella complains.

“I think that’s enough from you, DJ Ella.” Erin tells her cutely. Ella frowns and folds her arms over her chest. “Don’t do that.” Erin says about Ella’s frown. She closes the computer and sets it on the table next to the couch. She bends then, putting her hand into the back of the couch next to Ella’s head. She leans in and whispers in Ella’s ear. “I’ll be in my room.” She pulls away from Ella’s ear and gives her a look. The look.

Ella swallows the lump that has risen in her throat and nods.

Erin stands up and goes over to the stairs, ascending them without another word.

Ella waits a moment. She stares down at her hands the whole time. She waits until Erin is gone and she hears her door shut upstairs. Ella chances a look at Brittany who is still sitting across from her.

“Well?” Brittany smirks. “What are you waiting for?”

Ella shakes her head and jumps up from her seat. Brittany laughs as Ella practically runs up the stairs.

* * *

 

The home game on May 3rd is a blowout. A disappointing 4-0 loss. The locker room is quiet as everyone changes after the game. That’s the second loss in a row. The team didn’t play well and didn’t play as a team.

Erin changes quickly and solemnly. Her mind wanders all sorts of places but Erin pulls it together enough to collect some thoughts. She clears her throat. She doesn’t want the team to get down about the loss. She doesn’t want anyone losing faith. She doesn’t want moral to drop. “I just want to say that we’re a team. We win as a team and we lose as a team. No single person is a fault for this loss. It’s one game. One loss. We forget about it and come back tomorrow, the game erased from our minds. We refocus. We watch the tape and fix the mistake. As a team. We do everything as a team. Now gather up. Hands in.” Erin stands in the middle of the room with her arm held out. The rest of the girls circle around her. “Team on three.” Everyone nods. “One. Two. Three.” Erin counts.

“Team.” The girls cheer.

It’s a fairly quite ride back to the house. Bianca talks quietly about the game with Brittany in the back seat. Ella drives and Erin sits quietly in the front passenger’s seat just watching the scenery as it goes by.

Back at the house everyone goes their separate ways. Bianca and Brittany go to their rooms right away.

“I’m gonna get something to eat. You want something?” Ella asks Erin as she walks towards the kitchen.

“No. I’m fine. I’m gonna take Max out.”

“Kay.” Ella nods and goes to find some food.

Erin takes Max for a walk and then comes back and hops into the shower. Another shower. She stands there and lets the hot water wash over for a long time before she actually washes her hair and skin. Erin gets out and wraps herself up in a towel and heads to her room. She briefly wonders where Max is but finds the answer when she opens her bedroom door. A smile takes over her face when she sees Max laying on the bed with Ella over the top of him tickling him, then teases him, before tickling his belly again. Erin watches them playing together for a few seconds before going over to the dresser to get something to wear for the night.

Ella looks over at Erin briefly before going back to playing with Max.

Erin sits on the edge of the bed once she’s done changing. “Having fun?” She asks.

Ella stops tickling Max and looks at Erin, nodding. “You want a turn?”

Erin shakes her head. “No. I’m gonna lie down.”

“Oh.” Ella is a bit surprised. Usually Erin doesn’t pass up playtime. “You okay?” She asks with worry.

“Yeah.” Erin lays down on the right side of the bed. “I’m good.” She says and closes her eyes.

Max wiggles around on the bed trying to get Ella’s attention but Ella has forgotten about playtime and has all her focus on Erin now. Ella watches Erin for a few seconds. But Erin doesn’t make a move. She doesn’t say anything either. Erin just lies there with her eyes closed. Ella grabs Max puts him on the floor. She turns back to Erin and lays down next to her. Ella puts her hand gently on Erin’s forearm. “Erin?”

“Hmmm.” Erin responds without opening her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Ella asks cautiously. “Did I do something wrong?”

Erin’s lips curl at the corners. “No, you’re perfect.”

Ella’s cheeks heat at the complement. “I’m not. But thanks.” She says and starts rubbing her hand up and down Erin’s arm. Erin hums at the soft sensation. “Is it about tonight?” Ella asks softly.

Erin nods.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Ella knows Erin likes to talk things through and she’s getting better about talking things through with Erin.

Erin shakes her head. “No.” She mumbles.

“Okay.” Ella bites her bottom lip thinking of something that she can do. “But, you’re alright.”

Erin cracks her right eye open and peeks over at Ella. “I’ll be fine.”

Ella nods. She thinks for a few minutes and the room is completely silent. Ella moves Erin’s arm and lays where it was, resting her head on Erin’s shoulder. “It’s just one game. Like you said.” Ella says softly. She rests her hand on Erin’s chest and starts tracing shapes into the skin just below Erin’s collarbone.

“I know.” Erin mumbles. “I just can’t get over the fact that I let four goals go in.”

Ella hums. “It’s not all on you. The defense had a part in it. The whole team, really.” She lifts her head off of Erin’s shoulder to look at her face, but Erin still doesn’t have her eyes open.

“You’ll bounce back. You’re the best goalkeeper in the world.” Ella says.

Erin’s eyes pop open at that. “I am not.” She looks over at Ella with a serious expression.

“As far as I’m concerned, you are.” Ella whispers with a tiny smile.

“There’s no way. There’s Solo and Angerer and a handful of others. I’m not the best.” Erin puts herself down.

Ella leans up on her elbow so her face is hovering over Erin’s. “You’re the best.” She says and kisses Erin. “You’re younger, stronger. No offense to your team but the defense isn’t the same caliber, of say, the US.” Ella licks her lips. “Ball for ball. Shot for shot. Percentage of saves. You’re better than them.” Ella gives Erin as much encouragement that she can. She knows Erin is feeling bad right now. She knows Erin is feeling crappy and sorry for herself.

Erin rubs her lips together and thinks about what Ella is saying. Ella might have a few good points. “Well, maybe.” Erin mumbles.

Ella grins. “Yeah, maybe, you silly goose.” She leans in and kisses Erin again. “Definitely.” Ella says surely.

Erin rolls her head to the side. “O-kay.”

“No more talking down on yourself. You’re the best. You gotta believe that. Nobody else plays the same game. Nobody else compares.” Ella boosts up Erin’s confidence. Erin smiles. She reaches up and wraps some of Ella’s hair between her fingers. “And no more talking about Solo. I don’t want to hear that name come out of your mouth ever again.”

“Seriously?” Erin wonders if Ella can really be serious.

“Yes, I’m serious.” Ella glares at Erin. “I won’t use the words enemy or hate but I certainly won’t use the words like or friends either.”

“Got it.” Erin wasn’t sure how deep Ella’s issues are with some of the members of the USWNT were.

“And no more moping around. I don’t like mopey girls.” Ella says in a light, goofy voice.

Erin chuckles and gets a thought. “What kinda girls do you like?” She dares to ask.

Ella licks her lips and smirks. “Just you.”

“Oh, yeah.” Erin raises an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Ella leans down for a long kiss. “You wanna go out tomorrow night?” She asks afterwards.

“Date night?” Erin asks with a happy grin.

Ella nods. “Yeah, date night.”

“Sure, babe.” Erin lifts her head off of the pillow searching for Ella’s lips. Ella meets Erin and seals their plans with a kiss.

* * *

 

Ella walks into the kitchen in the morning.

“Morning, Ella.” Brittany greets.

“Morning.” Ella goes over to the fridge and pulls it open. Brittany is sitting at the table just finishing up her breakfast when Ella walked in. “Whatcha doing up so early?” Ella asks as she ponders something to eat.

“I’m going to church.” Brittany gets up and brings her dishes over to the sink. She sets her dirty dishes down and steps up next to Ella. “You wanna come with?”

Ella straightens up, pulling her head out of the fridge. She looks to her right, at Brittany, and mulls over the question. “No thanks.” Ella declines.

“Okay.” Brittany hobbles over to the kitchen door. Walking isn’t the easiest with a giant brace on your leg. She looks back in Ella’s direction. “But, the offer’s always there if you ever want to come with.”

“Okay.” Ella nods. Brittany leaves the room and Ella continues her search for breakfast.

* * *

 

It’s on her mind all day. What Brittany asked Ella in the morning. Ella wonders how that would work. Going to church. Or if it would be okay. Or if she’d be condemned and struck down the second she stepped foot in the doors.

It’s been a long time since Ella has thought about going to a church service. But now, the thought doesn’t seem to want to leave her mind. She wonders if she should mention it to Erin or not. She wonders what it would be like going to church and how she would feel as she walked in.

Ella is full of complicated and contradictory feelings and emotions on the issue. She decides maybe she should talk to someone about it before she goes insane.

The bedroom door is half open but Ella knocks before she enters as a courtesy. “Brittany?” She mumbles.

“What’s up?” Brittany is sitting on the bed with her laptop on her legs.

“Can I talk to you about something?”

“Sure.” Brittany pats the spot on the bed next to her for Ella to come and sit.

Ella sits down and worries her tongue between her lips. She doesn’t know where she should start or what’s even appropriate to start with. “Can you tell me about this church you go to?”

“Interested?” Brittany quirks an eyebrow in Ella’s direction.

Ella shrugs. “I don’t know. I haven’t been in a church in about a year.”

“I don’t want to be too nosy but may I ask why?” Brittany asks softly.

“Erin.”

“Really?” Brittany doesn’t believe that Erin is preventing Ella from going to church.

“It’s complicated.” Ella sighs. “I haven’t- I can’t- I’m still trying to figure it out.”

“What?” Brittany asks the simple questions.

“If the two can exist at the same time. Me and Erin. And me and church.” Ella mumbles.

“Hmm.” Brittany nods. “Well, I don’t know the specifics of your religion and beliefs but I do know that you are welcome at my church. And sometimes, church, and religion, and personal journey are all separate and don’t or shouldn’t coexist. I do know that what’s important is that you find the right path for you, the right fit for you. Whether that means going to church or not. That’s up to you.”

Ella nods and takes Brittany’s words to heart. “Thanks, Britt.”

“You’re welcome. And like I said, the offer’s always open.”

“Yeah.” Ella nods thinking the advice over.

There is silence for a moment as they sit there together. Brittany is the one to break that silence. “I’m curious.”

“About?” Ella asks.

“Erin. What does she think of this? What does she think of going to church?” Brittany asks.

Ella sighs and looks down at the bed. “I haven’t talk to her about it. Well, this going to church thing, specifically. We’ve talked about the whole religious thing multiple times. It’s usually a heated conversation. She’s an atheist.”

“Wow.” Brittany chuckles, not previously knowing Erin’s religious beliefs.

“What?” Ella questions.

Brittany shakes her head. “You two.” She says in disbelief. They’ve all lived in the same house of almost two months now. Brittany has seen the way Erin and Ella are around one another and can see that they are totally, wholeheartedly in love but they do have their differences. And maybe, on paper, it shouldn’t work. But somehow it does, they do. Brittany thinks it probably comes down to one important thing. Love. And she sees both of them sticking to that most important thing.

“Yeah, we’re weird.” Ella mumbles.

Brittany laughs. “Where is that girls anyway?”

Ella smiles when Brittany bringing up Erin. “Getting ready for dinner. She was pretty down after last night’s game so I’m taking her out. I should actually probably go get ready too.”

“Get outta here, kid.” Brittany swats at Ella. “Go. Get.”

Ella laughs and gets off the bed. “Thanks, Britt.” Ella says as she opens the door.

“Anytime.”

* * *

 

“So I was thinking nothing too fancy. Just laid back and relaxing. Dinner and a movie?” Ella says as she drives them to the restaurant she picked for tonight.

“Sounds perfect.” Erin sighs. Ella knows just how to make her happy and make for a good date night. “But we need to be back early.”

“I know.” Ella gives Erin a tight lipped smile. She knows. She knows Erin has a flight early the next morning.

Ella treats Erin to a simple meal at a restaurant that they had on their list of places to try while in Houston. After dinner, they go to the movie theater.

They sit up at the top, in the back row of the theater. Erin insisted that it’s the best spot to sit and Ella has a hard time finding any argument with that. As the lights go down and it gets dark in the theater Erin leans over into Ella. “Thanks for tonight, babe.” She whispers and kisses Ella’s cheek. “I really needed it. Helps to think about something else for a change. All I’ve been thinking about all day is the game. It’s nice to think about you and date night and something other than last night.” She reaches for Ella’s hand and latches their fingers and palms together.

Ella smiles timidly over at Erin, her cheeks a little pink. “You’re welcome.” She wonders about something Erin just said. “You think about me?” She whispers a mere inch or two away from Erin’s face, looking directly into her eyes through the dark.

Erin pulls her lips up at one side. “Of course. All the time. Don’t you?” She asks.

Ella shrugs. “Well, yeah, but-“ She stutters for the words to say. “I- I mean- every waking hour of every day.” Ella smiles coyly. “I can’t not-“

A little boy in front of them turns around in his seat and glares at them. He brings his finger to his lips. “Shhhhhhhh.” He hisses loudly.

“Sorry.” Erin says immediately. Ella nods along with Erin’s apology. The boy seems satisfied and turns back around.

Erin gets as close to Ella’s ear as possible to whisper. “You got us in trouble.”

Ella shakes her head. “Me. You started it.”

“And you started asking questions.” Erin counters.

The boy turns around again and glares at them. His mother grabs his shoulder and faces him forward again. The woman doesn’t seem too bothered by Erin and Ella’s conversation and is more concerned about her boy being rude.

Erin leans into Ella’s ear again. “Just watch the previews.” She follows that by blowing in Ella’s ear lightly.

A shiver runs though Ella’s body and she pulls her hand from Erin’s and gives her the death stare. Erin pouts and holds out her hand again. Ella rolls her eyes and takes Erin’s hand and holds it in her lap, stroking over the skin gently with her thumb.

* * *

 

Ella told everyone to bring their own drinks. She and Britt have prepared nachos and they sent Bianca to the store to get chips and dip and popcorn. The game is set to start at seven and Ella is running around the house like a crazy person making sure everything is ready.

“Ella?” Brittany stops her.

“What?” Ella whips her head in Britt’s direction.

“Everything’s ready. It’s fine. Why don’t you go shower or change or whatever it is that you were just babbling about.” Brittany tries to level out Ella’s craziness.

Ella is just worried. It’s the first time she or they have had the team over to the house. It’s not the first time the team has gotten together so she’s not worried about that. She more worried if there will be enough food, enough places to sit, if the projector will work properly. She’s worried that the house is in order. Those are the things that are bothering her the most. She wants to be a good host.

Ella looks around the living room once more. She knows Britt is right, that there’s not much else she can do. She nods. “Okay.”

Brittany smirks. “What are you gonna wear? By the way.”

Ella narrows her eyes at Brittany. She doesn’t think she understands the question at first but then it hits her. “Oh.”

Just then the doorbell rings.

Ella’s eyes widen. She’s not ready.

Brittany laughs. “Go. It’s fine. I got it.”

Ella nods and turns for the stairs.

“You never answered my question.” Brittany calls after her.

Ella smirks as she runs up the stairs. “It’s a surprise.” She yells.

* * *

 

Most of the Dash team has arrived by the start time and gotten something to eat and taken their places. There’s talk and chatter of the game. The rivalry between the US and Canada. Ella thinks Canada actually has a good shot at getting a win today with a number of American players out with injuries. But she’s not going to admit that to a decidedly pro-USA room. Not that she’s anti-USA or anything. It’s more that she’s pro-Erin. She wants to see Erin succeed and do well, no matter who the opponent.

Brittany comes over and sits down on Ella’s right. Stephanie Ochs is sitting on her left as the game starts. Stephanie nudges Ella with her elbow.

“What?” Ella looks over at her teammate.

“You’re wearing an awful lot of red for an American.” Steph jokes.

Brittany laughs on Ella’s right. “She’s right. Though, I half expected you to come downstairs in a McLeod jersey so…” She trails off.

Ella frowns. “What are the US colors?” She questions the two.

“Red, white, and blue.” Stephanie answers.

“The first being-“ Ella pinches the sleeve of her t-shirt between her forefinger and thumb.

Brittany laughs and Stephanie shakes her head. “Fine, you win this one Masar.” Steph tells her.

Ella smiles smugly and turns back to the game. There is still some chatter in the room but most everyone is watching the game.

* * *

 

Ella bounces her right leg nervously for most of the second half of the game.

“Fuck.” Ella mumbles when Sydney Leroux scores the tying goal in the 78th minute. She watches the replay. The net was open and Erin had no shot at getting to the ball. A defensive mistake allowing the goal. Ella gets up.

“Where are you going?” Kealia asks as Ella walks past her. “This is just getting good.”

“I have to put some stuff away.” Ella says and goes into the kitchen. She can’t watch the rest of the game. She doesn’t have a good feeling about it. It’s better to stay busy then to stress out about something she has no part of.

Maybe it’s the jealousy or envy that she holds. Maybe it resentment. Ella’s not really sure. She always has mixed feelings when she watches the US play. Feeling like she never got a fair shot at being on the National Team. Like, maybe it was rigged. She was there and then she wasn’t and then other factors came into play and it was as if it never happened. It’s one of the things that she wishes she could just let go but for whatever reason those feelings always come back every time the US plays.

Ella always has mixed emotions about watching the US play, and now, when they play Canada, her feelings are even further mixed and twisted.

She busies herself by putting away all the nacho fixings and everything else that’s on the counter in the kitchen. Ella washes all the dishes and cleans up everything there is to clean up. She’s drying the last few dishes when Brittany comes into the kitchen.

“You okay?” Britt asks.

Ella sighs. “Yeah, I just. It’s hard. Even harder now with Erin.”

“That’s what you get for dating a foreigner.” Brittany says lightly.

Ella smiles. “The opposition. The rival. It’s kinda funny.” Ella chuckles. “The American and the Canadian. The forward and the goalkeeper. Opposites. Rivals.”

Brittany nods. “It’s something.” The irony is not lost on Brittany. She gets it. She sees what’s going on. And she finds it very interesting. Brittany grabs a dish towel and helps Ella finish drying the remaining dishes.


	33. Chapter 33

Ella gets out of her chair and shuts the computer after the Live Show. It was a little nerve-wracking do to, especially when they had technical difficulties with Ben. But, Ella falls into the ease of the show about twenty minutes in. She has Erin to thank for that. Being able to sit next to her and follow Erin’s lead was easy. Erin has had a lot more experience with live interviews and shows and tapings and that sort of thing so she was a little more comfortable than Ella was at the beginning.

“Do you think that was alright?” Ella asks after she shuts off the camera. They’ve never done a live show before. They never done anything live before. It’s all been taped and then edited. This, this is a totally different realm.

“Was what alright?” Erin asks.

“The show. Did I do alright answering questions? You don’t think anything I said was too revealing?” Ella asks. She’s second guessing everything that she said.

“No.” Erin sighs. “I don’t think so.” She knows why Ella is asking. Ella doesn’t want to reveal anything about their relationship or let the cat out of the bag, so to speak. Erin wishes Ella didn’t want to be so secretive about it though. “It was fine.” She tells Ella. Erin’s not sure about a couple of things but nothing overly revealing sticks out in her mind. She doesn’t think Ella needs to worry.

* * *

 

After dinner and watching a movie with Brittany and Bianca, Ella heads up to bed and Erin takes Maxwell out for a walk. Ella gets ready for bed and goes into Erin’s room to wait for her there.

Ella gets into bed and settles into her spot for the night. She just needs her sleeping partner and she’s ready to slip off to dreamland.

Erin comes in, changes her clothes, and slips into bed. “Ohh, warming it up for me.” Erin grins goofily.

Ella kisses the grin off of Erin’s face. “I’m tired.”

“Oh.” Erin frowns. She wanted to talk with Ella.

“You sound disappointed.” Ella notices.

“Well, I kind of am.” Erin shrugs. “I was hoping we could talk.”

“About?” Ella asks.

“Some things that were brought up during the live chat thing.” Erin looks around nervously. She’s nervous to approach this topic with Ella.

“Specifically?” Ella raise an intrigued eyebrow. She knows Erin is dancing around something.

Erin swallows the lump in her throat. “Kids.” She chances a look at Ella.

Ella has the biggest smile on her face. “Yes, I want to have kids. Like I said. But that doesn’t have to happen tomorrow.”

Erin chuckles awkwardly. “Good cuz we can’t make that happen tomorrow, even if we wanted to.”

“We?” Ella asks.

“A kid or two might be nice.” It’s Erin’s way of saying that she wants kids in her future too.

“Might be nice?” Ella laughs. “Erin, your too much.” Erin shrugs. Ella stops laughing and gets serious again. “Did we just agree to have kids, like together?”

“I guess so.” Erin smiles. She can imagine it now. “A little girl, with thick ass hair, running around like a crazy woman.” Ella laughs. “Standing up for what she thinks is right and telling other kids they are wrong. The most stubborn, opinionated little girl on the playground who doesn’t let anybody mess with her. Who plays games with the boys and offers the other little girls to join but they don’t want to. The kindest, most thoughtful little girl with a heart of gold.” Ella sighs as Erin continues. “With good manners and a curious nature.” Erin smiles. “A tiny little Ella. She’d be perfect.”

“That does sound great but any kid of mine will probably be a little devil. I was a shithead when I was a kid. It would be payback.” Ella says.

“No. We’d teach ‘em. How to be respectful. How to be a good person. How to handle themselves around others. No shitheads allowed.” Erin grins. “I would love to have kids with you if we were to get to that point someday.”

Ella sighs. She holds back the tears but just barely. Erin is everything she’s ever wanted and more. “I love you.” Ella says and rolls over into Erin, burying her face in Erin’s neck.

Erin wraps her arms around Ella and holds her tight. She smiles from ear to ear. Happy and feeling good about everything right now. Erin kisses the side of Ella’s head. “I love you, babe.” She thinks it’s funny that they somehow just decided to have kids in the most roundabout, unserious of serious conversations. The more Erin thinks about it she thinks it’s so them and fits their relationship the way it happened. Erin wonders briefly when that day might come. She knows it’s probably a long way off yet but if they can make it together she can’t wait for the future that is ahead of them.

* * *

 

Feeling happy and high on life after her and Ella’s little talk of children, Erin walks into Randy’s office with a purpose the next day. The two don’t seem to have anything to do with one another. But in a tiny way they do.

“Afternoon, Randy.” Erin greets.

“Hello, Erin. What brings you in today? We didn’t have an appointment that I am forgetting about, did we?” Erin and Randy meet bi-weekly to discuss the team.

“Nope, but- I was hoping I could get some information out of you.” Erin smirks.

“Oh really.” Randy folds his hands together and sets them on top of his desk and he leans forward in his chair.

Erin sits down in the chair across from him. “Yeah. I was wondering about the upcoming International break in June and what days the team will have off?”

Randy flips his giant desk calendar to June. It has all the games written down. For the Dash, the US, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil game days. “Looks like the US has a game on the 14th, so do we.” He scowls at Erin. “Our next game is the 28th of June. I didn’t have anything set in stone yet but now is as good of a time as any.” Randy picks up a pen. “Any reason you want to know?”

Erin shakes her head. “No, nothing in particular. I just wanted to know, as captain and all.” It’s a little tiny lie. Yes, she wants to know as captain but she wants to know for other reasons too.

“How about we set up a whole week? Starting the day after the game, on the 15th.” He writes that down on the calendar. “And I want everyone back on the 22nd\- that isn’t still away with National Team. We’ll have practice the next morning.”

Erin nods. “Sounds good. A nice break in the middle of this crazy season.”

“You’ll let the girls know.” Randy tasks Erin with telling the team.

“Sure.” She nods. Erin wasn’t looking to do that. It’s not what she came here to do but she’ll do it. She’ll gather everyone after practice or something in the next couple of days and let them know. “I’m on it, coach.” Erin stands up. “I’m gonna get going, if that’s all.”

“You’re the one who came to me, Erin.”

Erin rubs awkwardly at the back of the neck. “Right. Sorry.”

Randy chuckles and shakes his head. “Get outta here.” He waves his hand for her to go.

Erin scrambles out of the room with a few things on her mind.

* * *

 

When they get back to the house after training Erin takes Max for a quick walk while Ella starts dinner for the house. It’s her night to cook and it gives Erin the opportunity to lock herself away in her room for a little bit without Ella coming to find her or to seem like she’s doing something suspicious.

Erin gets her computer as soon as she is in her room and starts looking up flights. A flight to Vancouver and a return flight to Houston, the same flight that she has back to Houston. Erin purchases the roundtrip flight and prints off the information.

* * *

 

Ella is in her room reading after dinner, after she’s cleaned up everything and is ready to just relax for the rest of the night.

“May I come in?” Erin asks at the door.

Ella puts her bookmark in between the pages and shuts the book. She puts the book on the nightstand. “Come in.”

Erin slips into the room and closes the door behind her.

“Where’s Maxwell?” Ella asks when he doesn’t follow her in.

“He’s taking his after dinner nap.” Erin says and walks over to the bed. She sits on the edge of the bed, next to Ella’s hip.

“What’s that?” Ella asks when she sees a folded piece of paper in Erin’s hand.

Erin grins. “I have a little surprise.”

“For me?” Ella points to herself.

Erin nods and holds the piece of paper out for Ella to take. Ella bites her lip and takes the paper from Erin. She doesn’t know what it is and can’t think of anything that it could possibly be. It’s seems to be just a piece of paper. Ella slowly unfolds the paper and her eyes scan the information that is there. “Erin, no.”

Erin chuckles. “Ella, yes.” Ella reads off the information again and can’t believe what she’s seeing, reading. “I don’t wanna assume anything but I bought this ticket. Will you come to Vancouver during the June break? Come watch me play?” Erin asks hopefully.

Ella lunges forward and wraps her arms around Erin’s neck. “Yes.” She says excitedly.

“Cool.” Erin wiggles back and forth on the bed as Ella squeezes her. She lifts her left hand on puts it on Ella’s forearm. “I was hoping you would say yes.”

“You thought I would say no?” Ella asks, pulling away from Erin a little but still keeping her hands around Erin’s neck though.

Erin shrugs. “I didn’t know your plans for your days off. Maybe you were going to visit your family.”

Ella shakes her head. “You’re a goofball. Don’t you think I might have mentioned that if it were true.” Erin shrugs. “Plus, I can’t afford it.” Ella frowns. “Wait, you paid for this?” She asks Erin.

Erin nods and smiles. “Yeah and I don’t want you to feel guilty about it or something stupid like that. It’s a gift for you. Well, and me. But, it’s a gift for you so- no complaints.”

Ella sighs. “I love you.”

Erin chuckles lightly. “I love you, too. I can’t wait to have you home again.” Erin’s got some ideas for what they can do while Ella is there. Up to game day Erin will be busy but Ella is first coming the day before the game. The three days after, they can do whatever.

Ella kisses Erin’s cheek. “You got something in mind?”

“Maybe.” Erin smirks. “You’ll have to wait to find out.”

“Okay.” Ella is more than alright with that. They sit there in quiet for a few moments. Ella thinks about the logistics of all of this and how Erin purchased the tickets and everything. Erin thinks about the things she wants to do with Ella during a summertime in Vancouver.

“Wait. How do you know what days I can be there?” Ella looks at the piece of paper again. The departure date is on June 17th and the return date on the 22nd.

“I may have talked to Randy.” Erin tells her. Ella looks at Erin with shock. “Don’t worry I didn’t tell him why or reveal any details. I know, I remember, we agreed not to tell anyone on the coaching staff.”

Ella sighs. “I didn’t even know what dates we had off yet.”

“Well, now you do.” Erin pats at Ella’s thigh.

“I do.” Ella looks at the printout again. “I can’t believe this.”

Erin chuckles. “Believe it, babe. Cuz it’s happening.” Erin leans in for a kiss that Ella meets her for. “I have a few things to take care of right now but I’ll be back for bed.” Erin makes a move to get up and Ella lets her go. “I’ll be back.”

Ella flops backwards onto her pillow. “Bring Max with you.”

“Of course.” Erin smiles back at Ella from the door. “Okay.” She mumbles dopily before pulling the door open and going about her business.

* * *

 

When Erin returns to Ella’s room it’s getting late. “Must be a good book.” Erin sees Ella still reading.

Ella looks over at Erin and nods. She spots Max at Erin’s feet and Erin is carrying his little doggy bed. She goes back to her book with a pleased smile and Erin puts Max’s bed at the end of Ella’s bed and he curls up on it right away.

Erin moseys on over to the unoccupied side of the bed and sits down and copies Ella’s position. Her back against the headboard, her legs outstretched in front of her, her hands folded together in her lap. Erin turns her head to the side and watches as Ella reads her book. She wishes Ella wasn’t so interested in her book. Erin’s mind is stuck on things like kids and Vancouver.

“Ella?” Erin questions and runs her fingertips down the length of Ella’s arm.

“Hmm.” Ella hums, not taking her eyes from the words in the book.

Erin doesn’t respond verbally. Instead, she scraps her fingernails up Ella’s arm. This time on the inside. Ella squirms in her spot a little. “Erin, I’m reading.” She’s not really fond of the distraction.

“I know.” Erin smirks even though Ella isn’t paying any attention to her. Erin continues softly dragging her fingernails up and down the inside of Ella’s arm. Erin turns her body into Ella’s and whispers in her ear. “You can keep reading if you want.” She breathes hotly against the skin on Ella’s neck, just below her ear. “I can’t wait to get you back to Vancouver.” Erin husks and then attaches her lips to Ella’s neck. To Erin, everything feels perfect and peaceful when they are in her true home.

Ella stops reading. “Erin, what are you- doing?” She stumbles over her words.

Erin lifts her head and looks into Ella’s eyes. “Trying to get your attention.”

Ella nods once and shuts her book. Erin ducks her head again and presses her lips against the underside of Ella’s jaw. Ella takes in a sharp breath as Erin’s teeth scrape against her skin. “Don’t-“ Ella grips onto Erin’s arm and Erin is about to stop when she hears Ella’s don’t. “-leave a mark.” Ella cautions. That’s all she’s really worried about. Erin smirks and continues her assault on Ella’s neck.

Ella wonders what has brought this on. Not that it bothers her but she was busy reading. “Erin?” She questions.

Erin looks up and sees the questions in Ella’s eyes. She sits up and repositions herself so that she’s sitting on Ella’s lap, straddling her legs. “What’s up, buttercup?” Erin says and licks her lips.

Ella reaches for Erin’s waist and slips her hands under Erin’s t-shirt, setting them on her hips. “You mentioned something about Vancouver.”

Erin raises her eyebrows. “So you were listening.” She jokes.

Ella rolls her eyes. “Yes, I was listening.”

“I’m kidding, babe.” Erin leans in and kisses the corner of Ella’s mouth. “And as much as you talk, you’re a very good listener.” Erin complements Ella. “It’s not your greatest quality but it’s a very good one.”

“What’s my greatest quality?” It piques Ella’s interest.

“We’ll get back to that later.” Erin smirks. “I mentioned Vancouver cuz I’m super excited to have you come back there. It’s my home and I love having you in my home. And I’m excited for you to go to the game. Your very first Canada game.”

Ella’s cheeks heat up a little. “I’m excited to go. I mean I only found out a couple hours ago but still-“

Erin grins at her girl. “I love you.” She says simply.

“I love you too, Erin.” Ella replies and pulls her hand from Erin’s hip and fists it in the front Erin’s shirt and pulls her in for a kiss.

“No.” Erin says. “Like, I love you, I love you. Like I love everything about you. As disgusting and cheesy as that sounds.” Erin pauses for a split second. “And you need to know. I love you and I fall more in love with you every single day. The things you do and the way you are.” Erin huffs out a breath. “God, that sounds stupid.”

Ella laughs. “Erin, I know.”

“I don’t think you do.” Erin mumbles. “Not to say that I know what you’re thinking or feeling. But, more so that I need to express it more. You are an incredible human being. Everything you do is with such a passion. I’ve been in the game a long time and I’ve only seen that a few times. It goes beyond soccer. But, as I stand back in that goal and I watch the team play sometimes I get caught up. My mind stops thinking about what happening on the field.” Erin chuckles. “And that’s a bad thing cuz I’ve lost focus. But, it’s something that happens naturally. My mind wanders as I see you up there beasting it up. Even if you don’t have the ball or things aren’t going your way or the game has gone to shit. There you are, giving it everything you have and then some.”

“110%” Ella smirks.

“That’s not a real thing.” Erin frowns. They’ve been over this 110% thing before. You can’t give more than 100%. That’s all of you. 100% is everything you have. It bugs Erin when Ella uses 110%, though she knows what Ella means by it.

“Yes, it is.” Ella says and sticks her tongue out.

Erin rolls her eyes. “Whatever.” She reaches up and twist some of Ella’s hair between her fingers. “Back to what I was saying. It’s very admirable. And respectful. I think the other girls see it and can see how hard you work and the effort you put into this team. You’re a leader.”

“You’re the captain.” Ella counters.

“Doesn’t matter.” Erin shrugs. “I love you, Ella. I respect you. I admire you. You stand up for what you believe in. Even when others aren’t going to agree. You’re not afraid to say when you think something is wrong.”

“I haven’t always been that way.” Ella tries to take something away from what Erin is saying.

“But you are now. That’s growth. I remember you saying that you haven’t always been the best person, and you’ve done some bad things and made some bad mistake in the past. But, that’s how we learn and grow. And, I think, I might be biased here, but you’ve grown into a wonderful person. I love you, Ella. Everything about you. Your strength, and your fight, and your passion. They’re beautiful. You’re beautiful. So much so.” Erin puts her palm over Ella’s heart. “You fight for the people and things that you love.”

“I love you.” Ella pulls Erin close to her but doesn’t kiss her yet. “Where is all of this coming from?” Ella asks.

Erin shrugs. “I guess I’m just feeling extra emotional today.” She leans into Ella’s chest and rests her head on her shoulder. Erin rubs her fingers back and forth over the spot when Ella’s heart is under her chest.

Ella wraps her arms around Erin and holds her tight.

“I love that you can make me laugh every day. Make me feel good. Whether it’s some stupid joke, or something that you do. It doesn’t matter. And I absolutely love your laugh. Especially that deep laugh, the one from deep inside, when you get going, laughing super hard, not being able to stop. And your smile. And those dimples when you smile really big.” Erin starts listing off things that she loves.

Ella smiles really big, her dimples out in full force, and let’s Erin ramble all she wants. She eats it up. Ella absolutely loves hearing all the things Erin likes about her. It makes her feel special, loved, and cared for. That’s not something she’s gotten a lot in her life and it’s nice to hear.

“I love your big strong muscles. And the fact that you can pick me up.” Erin jokes a little. She still remembers back to the summer before when they were at Shannon Boxx’s lupus walk and Ella went and lifted her off of her feet all of sudden. Erin was a little surprised, to say the least.

Ella laughs.

“Even those stubby little sausage fingers.” Erin gets a smack on the arm for that one. She lifts her head off of Ella’s shoulder and looks up into her eyes. “And those.” She nods. “I know you think grey isn’t the coolest color. But I think grey is perfect. Unique. Not too many people have grey eyes. The best part is the way they sparkle when you are happy or excited.”

“Are you done yet?” Ella asks with a happy smile.

“Oh, I could go on all day if you let me.” Erin says sincerely. “You wanna know my favorite thing though?” Erin asks. “At least physically.” Erin licks her lips and Ella nods. Erin smiles cheekily. “Dat ass.”

Ella chuckles. “Sure.” She doesn’t really think Erin is being serious.

“No, I’m totally serious.” Erin nods her head. “You have an awesome ass.” She smirks.

Ella blushes a little. “Stop it.”

Erin tries to reach around Ella to get a feel of said ass, but it’s rather difficult with Ella sitting and the best Erin can do is squeeze her hip.

Ella grabs at Erin’s hand and pulls it away. “Erin.” She chides.

Erin pouts like a sad puppy. “I wuv you.” She says in a baby voice. Ella chuckles a little. Erin puckers her lips and closes her eyes. “Can I have a kiss?” Erin says in the same voice.

Ella smiles and locks her lips with Erin’s. “You’re such a dork sometimes.”

“Maybe.” Erin looks down upon Ella. “But, I’m your dork.”

Ella nods. “True.” She says and pulls Erin in for a deep kiss.

* * *

 

Ella signs autographs and takes pictures with fans after the game but doesn’t stick around too long. They all congratulate her on the goal but it only lifts her spirits for a little bit. She’s not in the greatest of mood. First off, they lost the game. Second, she feels like a number of people are against her. Ella doesn’t have anything to say when she enters the locker room after the game against Chicago. She goes about her business, showers, and changes, and goes out to her car when she’s finished. Ella doesn’t even bother to wait for Erin.

Ella sits in the car with the radio on, her eyes closed, and the back of her head against the headrest. She’s more than grumpy. She’s mad. Ella is mad that Erin pushed her. She’s mad that Erin doesn’t have her back. She’s mad that Erin chose Melissa’s side. Ella is mad and just wants to go home and go to bed. But, she has to wait for Erin and Bianca. Brittany didn’t attend the game. She still working up to it after her injury to be able to go to the game with no brace or crutches.

When Bianca and Erin get in the car, Ella puts it into gear and starts the drive to their house. The drive back is in silence, with Bianca sitting awkwardly in the back seat, and Erin ignoring Ella and looking out the passenger’s side window the whole time. Bianca scampers out of the car and into the house as soon as the vehicle comes to a halt in the driveway.

Erin knows that there is an issue. Heck, she’s mad at Ella for trying to start a fight. And she knows that Ella is upset about something too, but doesn’t quite know what or if it’s the same reason why Erin is mad. Whether, it’s that or something else from the game, Erin’s not sure.

“Ella.” Erin tests out the waters.

But Ella isn’t having it and gets out of the car. Erin gets out too. “Where are you going?” Erin says to Ella as she walks to the house.

“To bed.” Ella says without turning around.

Erin sighs and follows Ella inside the house. When she gets inside Ella is already long gone though. Erin does her thing and takes Maxwell for a walk. And when she comes back she gets ready for bed. She’s mad at Ella for trying to start a fight but she wants to talk to her about it. And Erin would, except that she knows how Ella is and she knows that she wouldn’t get anything from Ella tonight except probably yelling. Erin knows that she needs to give Ella a little space and some time to cool down. Especially after a rather frustrating game. Erin goes in her room and gets Max settled and is about to climb into bed when the door open. She looks over her shoulder to see Ella enter her room, still clearly mad.

“Didn’t think I’d be seeing you again tonight.” So, Erin’s still a bit miffed yet too.

It’s doesn’t take much and that’s what sets Ella off. “How can you take her side?” The yelling starts. “How can you do that?” Ella yells in Erin’s direction. “You’re my girlfriend and you’re taking your ex’s side. What is this?” Ella balls her hands into fists. “Why Erin, why?” She yells.

Erin turns to face Ella and folds her arms across her chest. “First of all, can we not yell?” She says annoyed.

Ella grunts in frustration. She’s angry and she’s going to yell if she wants.

“Second, I didn’t take anyone’s side. And, need I remind you, that YOU are the one who started a fight with Mel. What the fuck was that, Ella?” Erin gets heated too but keeps from yelling.

Ella takes a step forward. She takes the volume down a level, just below yelling “Are you kidding me right now? She maliciously knocked down Kaylyn. I- was standing up for my teammate.” Erin raises a challenging eyebrow. That’s not how she saw it. “You gotta be kidding me.” Ella scoffs when Erin doesn’t say anything. “I can’t believe this right now. You’re taking her side right here, right now.”

Erin shrugs. “Ella, Mel and Kaylyn are teammates, too. Remember? And before you started your fight, Mel was going over to Kaylyn to help her up and see if she was okay. This incident wasn’t as malicious as you want it to be. What I saw was you coming over and trying to start something that you had no business in.” Erin tells Ella how she saw it. “And then I had to intervene before things could escalate.”

Ella doesn’t see it the way that Erin does. “You didn’t need to.” She doesn’t know why Erin was there at midfield or how she got there so quickly and she thinks Erin didn’t need to be there at all. Ella feels she had things covered.

Erin argues. “Yes, I did. I didn’t want to see anything happen to anyone or see you get ejected from the game for doing something stupid.” Erin looks at Ella and challenges her to argue but they both know Erin is right.

Ella looks down at the floor feeling shame and embarrassment for the first time since the on field incident. “I wouldn’t have-“ Ella says lamely.

“But you were.” Erin points out. They both know Ella was milliseconds away from starting a fight and possibly making a huge mistake. “Ella, you were in the wrong.”

Ella bows her head and starts to feel sorry. She shrugs and starts to get upset in a different way. The anger fades and is replaced by something else. Ella feels her throat start to close up and the tears forming in her eyes. “You pushed me.” She says, weakly with a sniffle, in an attempt to prevent the tears from falling. Out of everything that happened tonight that’s what has Ella upset the most.

“What?” Erin asks.

Ella continues staring at her toes. “You pushed me.” She says in a whisper. “When you came over. You came right up to me and you pushed me.” That is what all the yelling and anger has stemmed from, in reality. It’s not so much everything else. The loss and the yellow card she got. Ella knows how to deal with that. She’s had to handle both in her career before so they’re nothing right now. But it’s that Erin pushed her. She doesn’t know how to deal with that.

Erin bites her lip trying to recall the events from the game. She supposes she did push Ella. “Ella.” Erin sighs out her name.

Erin saying her name triggers Ella’s tears. “You pushed me.” The tears start to fall as she takes a couple of steps. The emotions get the best of her and she crashes into Erin awkwardly. “And it scares me.” Ella cries.

“I didn’t mean to.” Erin wraps Ella up tightly against her chest. “It was the first thing that happened. I wanted to keep you away from Mel. I didn’t want you guys getting into a fight. I know emotions run high during a game and things can happen. I was just trying to prevent something bad from happening. Ella, I’m sorry.” Erin explains. She takes a deep breath and tries to remain calm and level headed right now, even though she feels terrible now that Ella has voiced her concerns.

“I would never-“ Erin sucks in a fearful breath. “I WILL never use force or aggressive behavior on you. I don’t- I’m not- that’s not- I’m so sorry.” Erin says for lack of something better to say. Erin is glad that they finally got to the root of the problem. It scares her a little bit that Ella might think that she would be physically violent. She’s not surprised, however, that this is what has Ella so worked up and that it doesn’t really have something to do with Mel.

Ella tucks herself into Erin’s body and cries. “I don’t want- I can’t-“ Ella mumbles into Erin’s chest. She won’t be in a relationship with someone that could possible raise a hand to her.

They’re on the same page with this one. “I know. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. That will never happen again. Ella, you know me, don’t you?” Erin asks and Ella nods. “I don’t even like to fight and yell. That’s you.” Erin jokes lightly. “I’m a lover, not a fighter. I promise, you have nothing to worry about.”

Ella nods against Erin’s chest. “Kay.” She mumbles. She turns her head to the side so the side of her face is against Erin’s chest and she can speak better. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have tried to start anything. But, when I saw Kaylyn go down something just took over me and I stomped over there with my loud mouth, having words, and yelling. So, I’m sorry. It’s been an emotional evening.”

Erin nods. “Yeah. You had a busy game.” She chuckles. “First home goal. A yellow card. And a fight. All in just a half of play.”

Ella removes her face from Erin’s chest and looks up at her, smiling shyly. “Can we go to bed now?” She asks with a hopeful smile. “I’m exhausted.”

Erin smiles and taking her hands from around Ella, reaches up to wipe the wet from under Ella’s eyes. “Yeah, babe.” She pulls Ella with her to the bed and falls backwards onto it. They both laugh as Ella falls on top of Erin. “You know, my mom told me something once. And I think it’s good advice for right now.” Erin mentions.

Ella starts to rearrange herself in bed and Erin follows suit. They both lay down on their side so their facing each other. “What’s that?” Ella asks.

“Never go to bed mad.” Erin says with a coy smile. She reaches out and tucks some stray hairs behind Ella’s ear. “To always work things out with your partner before going to sleep. Even if it’s something little. Don’t let the little things go because then they turn into big things. And if you sleep on them they usually get worse, not better. So, never go to bed mad. To put that effort in at the end of each day to make sure your both in a good place before you go to sleep.”

Ella nods. “That is good advice. Your mom seems very wise.”

“She is.” Erin smiles thinking of her mother. “And it is. So what do you say? Starting today, if something’s bothering you or you’re mad about something we discuss it at the end of the day. And that goes for both of us.”

Ella likes that idea. It will force her to say what she’s thinking and feeling and to not bottle stuff up so much anymore. “That sounds good.”

“I love you and I don’t like fighting with you. And I know if I would have gone to bed I wouldn’t have been able to sleep until I knew why you were upset. I was upset too. But, I also know not to push you and that you needed time and that you would come to me. But, I think this is a good new practice that will help us both be better, communicate better.” Erin smiles triumphantly at her brilliant idea.

Ella smiles. “You just got me all figured out, don’t cha?”

Erin shrugs and kisses Ella. “I try.”

Ella puts her hand on Erin’s chest. “And I love you for trying. I know I’m stubborn and can be a little shit sometimes. But thank you for putting up with me. I love you.” Ella says very sincerely.

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.” Erin says jokingly.

Ella rolls her eyes. “Go to bed weirdo.”

“I’m already in bed.” Erin says sassily.

“Go to sleep.” Ella fists the front of Erin’s shirt in her hand.

“Not before my goodnight kiss.” Erin says and puckers her lips in an exaggerated manner.

Ella laughs but then kisses Erin solidly. “Goodnight, honey.” She sighs afterwards.

Erin smiles. “Goodnight, beautiful.” She kisses Ella quickly and then rolls over onto her opposite side. Ella comes up behind Erin to be the big spoon. She clasps her hand with Erin’s and holds their joined hands over Erin’s heart and settles in for a good night’s sleep. “I’m also liking the no shirt option tonight.” Erin says with a smirk. It’s hard to not notice when Ella appears without a shirt on. She held her tongue while they were arguing but now that everything has been settled Erin just has to mention it.

“I know you do.” Ella says and kisses Erin’s shoulder. “It’s getting hot in Houston.”

* * *

 

Ella comes downstairs for breakfast the next morning. She had a wonderful night’s sleep after a rather rough fight with Erin. Emotions were running on high, especially after such an emotional game. It was bound to happen.

Brittany is already up and preparing breakfast. She glances over as Ella enters the room. “Uh- Ella.”

“What?” Ella asks, going to the fridge.

“I think your missing something.” Brittany says.

“Erin’s coming. She’ll be down in a minute.”

Brittany laughs. Hard.

“What?” Ella asks, holding a jug of orange juice.

“That’s not what I meant. But, okay.” Brittany shakes her head and refocuses on the pancakes that she is making. “You want some? I made enough for everybody.”

“Sure.” Ella gets some juice and sits down at the table and looks through her phone.

Bianca enters the kitchen. “Oh my god, Ella.” She nearly yells.

“What?”

“What’s happening?” Erin busts into the kitchen when she hears Bianca yell Ella’s name.

“Ella doesn’t have a shirt on.” Bianca waves her hand frantically in the air. Erin’s concern evaporates.

Ella looks down at her chest and shrugs. Erin chuckles and goes over to Ella. She bends at the waist and kisses Ella quickly. “You better get used to it with it getting warm in Houston.”

Brittany chuckles. “Of course.” She mumbles. “Sit down you two. I’m making pancakes.”

“Are they-“

Brittany cuts her off, already knowing the question. “Yes, they’re gluten free, Erin.”

“Sweet.” Erin does a fist pump and dances around in a little circle.

Ella laughs and reaches for Erin’s waist. She pulls at Erin and gets her to sit down on her lap. Erin raises an eyebrow at Ella but Ella won’t pay her any attention. Ella focuses across the room on Brittany making the pancakes, purposefully. Erin knows it’s Ella’s way of getting what she wants but without drawing any attention to what she did to get it.

“You’re very cute.” Erin whispers in Ella’s ear and then kisses her cheek.

Ella wraps one arm around Erin and goes back to looking through her social media.


	34. Chapter 34

The team is prepping for the road trip to New Jersey the next day. The last practice before the day wraps up and the assistant coach holds up a sheet of paper after the team huddle. “Here’s the list of roommates for the trip.” He hands it off to Stephanie and the coaches walk off the field.

Steph looks over the list and spots who her roommate is going to be. Kealia Ohai. She looks over the list and notices some of the other pairings. She hands the list off to Bianca but doesn’t let go completely and Bianca gives her a curious look. They lock eyes and Steph looks back down at the list and points at one of the pairings. Bianca chuckles and they both nod their heads in unison. Steph leaves the list with Bianca and jogs over to were Ella is stretching.

“So, I got a look at the roommate list for our road trip tomorrow.”

“And?” Ella looks up at Steph.

“I see you haven’t told the coaching staff. Interesting.” Steph chuckles and walks off.

Ella furrows her brow together as Stephanie gets further and further away from her. She doesn’t understand what Steph is talking about. That is, until she sees Bianca running away from Erin. Ella gets up and goes over. She watches as Erin swats at B with her gloves. “Knock it off, you little shit.” Erin says.

Ella catches Erin under the arm and it ceases her chase after Bianca. “What’s going on?”

“Can I have that?” Erin asks for the list of names. She takes it from Becky and hands it to Ella. “Take a look.”

“Oh.” Is all Ella says when she sees their names next to each other.

“B, was giving me crap.” Erin supplies.

Everything falls into place for Ella. “Got it.”

Pretty much all the girls on the team know about them being together but nobody on the coaching staff knows. That’s the why they want to keep it. Erin doesn’t see too much harm in telling them but Ella says that it would make them seem less professional. Erin doesn’t really see it that way but is willing to do want Ella wants, for now.

The team goes back to the locker room and Steph and Bianca keep giving Ella and Erin crap for being roomies on the teams upcoming trip to New Jersey. Erin mostly rolls her eyes and ignores it. Ella just blushes and rushes to get out of there for the day. She leaves before everyone and goes to sit in her car to wait for Erin.

* * *

 

Ella comes out of the bathroom after brushing her teeth and washing her face and Erin is standing in front of the hotel room tv, watching the news.

Erin looks over at Ella and smiles.

“What?” Ella asks as she walks past Erin.

Erin spins around quickly and wraps Ella up from behind. “Someone scored again today.” She whispers and presses her lips to Ella’s shoulder.

“Yes.” Ella rummages through her bag for a shirt to wear to bed.

“Don’t.” Erin says.

“Don’t what?” Ella tries to look back at Erin.

“Put a shirt on.” Erin clarifies

“But, what if-“

“The doors locked. No one’s coming in.” Erin reminds her.

Ella nods and then smiles. “I like this. Getting to room with you on the road.”

“Is that why you want to keep it a secret?” Erin asks with a smirk. This is a perk.

“Not a secret.” Ella says. She doesn’t want Erin to feel like it’s a secret. “Do you think I’m doing it on purpose?”

Erin shrugs. “Not really.”

“Well, I’m not. I just think we will be looked at differently if the coaches find out. No more of this.” Ella spins around in Erin’s arms and kisses her. “You had a great game tonight. Clean sheet.”

“A goal for you and a clean sheet for me. I’d say that’s a pretty okay night.” Erin jokes.

“I’d say. You ready for bed?”

“I thought you couldn’t sleep after games.” Erin knows this.

“I can’,t but I wouldn’t mind getting in bed and cuddling with you, if you want.” Ella offers.

Erin bites her lip, thinking of something better. Something to do before cuddles. “What if-“ She chances. “What if- you scored again tonight?” Erin raises an eyebrow at Ella.

“Hmm.” Ella hums. “Naughty.”

“Well?” Erin asks. It’s a bold move. To basically ask for sex.

Ella thinks about it. They are in a hotel room in New Jersey with teammates in rooms on either side of them. They are on a team trip. There are so many reasons why she should say no, but as Erin’s fingers stroke up and down the bare skin of her back Ella loses the ability to say no. “You’ll have to be quiet.”

Erin’s eyes go wide. “Me? What about you, missy?

Ella shrugs. “It’s just that our teammates-“

“I know.” Erin leans in and kisses Ella. She spins them around and gently pushes Ella away from her so she falls backwards onto the bed. Erin straddles Ella and pulls her shirt over her head revealing naked skin to the girl beneath her.

Ella pulls Erin down and kisses her hard.

* * *

 

It’s Ella’s turn to cook for the day. Usually, it’s only dinner that she has to cook but Ella decided to be nice and make the house breakfast too. Her famous omelets. It’s game day and she’s feeling up to cooking breakfast.

Ella whips the eggs together in a bowl. She’s got everything else ready to add to the omelets after she gets the eggs going.

“Morning.” Brittany greets as she enters the kitchen. “I was walking down the hallway upstairs and I heard this singing. At first, I wasn’t sure where it was coming from but then I checked the bathroom door and it was locked. I heard the water running. Is Erin’s taking a shower?”

“Yep.” Ella grins and pours some eggs into the skillet. “Want an omelet?”

“Sure. Does she sing in the shower often?” Brittany asks

Ella shrugs. “What’s often?” Ella asks. “I mean- probably. I don’t, like, keep track or anything. But, I’ve caught her a few times in the past few months.”

Brittany presses her lips tight together. “Okay. I guess I’ve just never heard it before. I mean, I know she sings and stuff but yeah.”

“Grab a plate, sit down.” Ella points at the table with the spatula.

Brittany does as she’s instructed.

* * *

 

“This is the day we’ve been waiting for all season. A home win. It might have taken a little longer than we wanted but we made it happen today. This one was really a team effort. Enjoy this win. We have another short turn around. Hit the showers.” Randy says in the team huddle after the game, after they get their first home win against Western New York.

It’s Erin’s turn to say something. “Great win tonight everybody. Enjoy it. I know I will. I won’t be around for the next game but I’m handing the captain reins over to the same person who was captain the last time I wasn’t available.”

“It’s an honor.” Ella mumbles. All eyes in the huddle turn to Ella.

“Back to me.” Erin smiles, taking the attention away from Ella. “Everybody, hands in. Victory on three. One. Two. Three.”

“Victory.” The group cheers and then starts to disperse to sign autographs. They have to get off the field quickly because the Dynamo have a game right after them. A double header.

* * *

 

Ella gets up early and brings Erin to the airport for her flight. She puts the car into park outside the front of the airport. “I’ll see you in a few days.” Ella leans across the center console. “Have a safe flight. I love you.” She says simply and leans in for a kiss.

It’s just a peck but Erin is more than happy to receive it. “I love you. I’ll see you on Tuesday. I’m so excited.” Erin wiggles around in her seat, a huge grin on her face.

Ella chuckles at Erin’s excitement. “I know you are. Me too.” And she is. Ella is happy that she gets the opportunity to go back to Vancouver. She wraps her hand around the back of Erin’s neck and pulls her in for another kiss. This one longer with a little hint of intensity to it. “Now go.” Ella says and releases Erin.

Erin licks her lips and takes a deep breath. “Okay.” She collects herself and her things and hops out of the car. Erin pokes her head back inside and smile at Ella. “See you on the other side of the border, my love.”

Ella bites her lip and nods. Her heart swells. Sometimes the things Erin says and does are just too much for Ella. She’s never felt so loved before. Even the littlest of things get to her. If Erin doesn’t leave soon, Ella not going to let her leave. “Go.” Ella nods her head in the direction of the airport.

Erin chuckles. “Alright. Bye.”

“Bye.” Ella parrots.

* * *

 

Houston loses the game with Kansas City before the two-week break. It’s another disappointment. It’s only a one goal loss, but a loss nonetheless.

“Okay.” Ella speaks up in the locker room after the game. “It’s time for a little bit of rest and relaxation. Everyone enjoy their time off. I’ll see all of you back on the 23rd. Our captain will be back then and we will proceed as a unit through the remainder of the season. Hands in.” Ella orders.

“Where you going this week, Ella?” Ochs says with a smirk. She knows the answer. All the girls on the team know what Ella’s plans are. She won’t shut up about them.

“Team on three.” Ella ignores the question. “One. Two. Three.”

“Team.”

“Erin, can’t get back soon enough.” Stephanie says to Bianca. “I think the power is getting to Ella’s head.” She jokes.

“I heard that.” Ella says.

The girls all laugh.

“And it’s not.” Ella adds.

“Whatever, Ella.” Stephanie says back.

Ella raises her hand and points a finger in Stephanie’s direction. “That’s captain to you.”

“No.” Bianca shakes her head as she walks away from Ella, back to her locker.

The team’s favorite pastime is making fun of Ella. It’s so much fun and so very easy to do. Ella takes everything in stride, knowing that it’s all in good fun.

* * *

 

Ella’s flight from Houston leaves mid-morning. She makes sure that everything is set with Max before she goes. Brittany and Bianca are going to be taking care of him while she is gone. While she and Erin are gone. She knows that he is in good hands but Ella worries about him before she goes. She’s starting to get like Erin when it comes to Max.

Ella is sitting at her gate waiting to board the plane. Her legs bouncing anxiously as she waits. Ella wishes she could just be in Vancouver already. Like, if she could magically snap her fingers and go from Houston to Vancouver in an instant, she would.

“Nervous about flying?” The man sitting two seat down from Ella asks.

Ella looks over at him and shakes her head. “No.” She doesn’t get nervous about flying. She just isn’t very fond of it. Being stuck, she won’t use the word trapped, in an airplane as it flies through the air isn’t her favorite thing. There’s no room and she can’t go anywhere. Flying is a necessity and something that Ella has gotten used to over the years but she still doesn’t like it very much.

“What’s with the bouncing then?” The man asks and points to Ella’s legs.

Ella looks down at her lower limbs and shrugs. She thinks about it honestly. To be truthful, she just wants to see Erin and be in Vancouver. Ella debates telling the man this but remember at the last second that she doesn’t know this man, he’s a stranger.

“I’m just excited.” Ella says simply.

“Ah.” The man gets up and moves over to sit in the empty seat next to Ella. “Going on vacation?” He guesses.

“Not really.” Ella says. She doesn’t really consider going to Vancouver a vacation. She’s not sure what to consider it yet.

“Business, then?” The man asks.

Ella laughs. The man smiles thinking that Ella finds him charming. “Okay, why are you going to Vancouver, then? Assuming that’s your final destination.”

“It is.” Ella nods. He’s got that part right. “I’m going to see a soccer game.” Ella supplies.

“Oh, a soccer fan.” The man goes on. “And you’re going all by yourself?”

Ella wrinkles her forehead up at his comment. “Yes.” Ella says to him even though he doesn’t need to know this information.

“Interesting.” The man smiles. “When’s this game?”

“Tomorrow.” Ella tells him.

“Then you’re in luck. I’ll still be in Vancouver. We could go to the game together.” The man offers.

All sorts of red flags go off in Ella’s mind. This, seemingly, friendly conversation has just turned into something unsavory. Something that Ella knows is dangerous. Something that Ella is uncomfortable with. She has every intention of shutting this guy down.

“You think so?” Ella says.

The man reaches out and puts his hand on Ella’s forearm. “Yeah.” He smiles. “My name’s Roger. What’s your name, beautiful?”

Ella rips her arm away from his hand. Only one person gets to call her beautiful and it certainly isn’t this slimy man.

“Hey.” Roger tries to sooth. “Don’t be like that. I’m just being friendly and giving a pretty girl a complement.”

Ella cringes and folds her arms over her chest. “Well, I’m taken. And that’s the real reason I’m going to Vancouver. The soccer game is just a bonus.”

Roger is stunned into silence. Ella takes satisfaction in the fact that she silenced this gross man. But it doesn’t last long. Roger scoffs. “Must be some hell of a man for you to fly all the way to Vancouver for, crossing borders even.”

Ella smirks. “Wrong.”

“What?” Roger says with confusion.

Ella knows she should have dropped this conversation a long time ago. She knows she should have gotten up and walked away when things became uncomfortable. She knows this but she can’t let this asshole down easily. She wants to stick it to him for being such a jerk.

“You’re wrong.” Ella holds her head up high.

“Would you care to explain or just continue to act like a bitch?” Roger says smugly.

Ella’s blood wants to boil but she keeps herself in check. It’s something she’s been working on. To not get overly upset and start a fight. She prides herself on how well she’s handled this situation so far. “Roger, was it?” Ella asks, as she gets out of her seat. She stands up and stands directly in front of him.

Roger nods and Ella nods it return. “Roger. If you must know. I, myself, am a soccer player.” She looks the smug man up and down and thinks she could probably kick his ass with no problems. “And I’m going to Vancouver. My partner also plays soccer and that’s the game I’m going to see. You were right about one thing but wrong about the rest.” Ella looks around. A few people are watching their exchange. “My partner is some hell of a person and _she_ is a thousand times better of a person than you.” Ella says and walks away from a stunned Roger. She just hopes that they aren’t sitting near each other on the plane.

Ella pulls her phone out of her bag and opens up her text messaging. **Some asshole just hit on me in the airport. And in not a nice way. I can’t wait to get on this plane and get there and see you. I love you.** Ella hits send and puts her phone in her pocket. She knows Erin is at training and won’t get her message for a few hours but she feels better telling Erin right away then waiting until she gets to Vancouver. Then when she gets there it will be out of the way right away. Ella takes a few deep breathes and sits down at the gate across the hallway from the one for her flight.

* * *

 

Erin waits for Ella inside the airport. She can’t wait to see her. Erin didn’t even change out of her training gear after John let them leave for the day. She gets a few looks about her attire but doesn’t care too much. Her mind is set on Ella. She got her text and at first wasn’t happy about it but she was glad to know that Ella texted her and told her right away. Erin is curious how Ella handled the situation though.

When she sees Ella the smiles on her face pulls all the way to her ears.

Ella walks over to Erin and Erin holds open her arms and waits for Ella to crash into her. Which she does with force. Erin chuckles. “Hey, babe. I’d ask how your day is going so far, but I think I might have an idea.”

“Oh my god.” Ella says and pulls back from Erin. “What an asshole. I was sitting at my gate and this guy came over and started talking to me. At first, it was fine. But, then he started asking me questions. Specific questions. And then the jerk had the nerve to complement me. But, like, not in a good way. You know how people do that. Like, somehow it’s a complement but it doesn’t seem like one.”

Erin reaches for Ella’s bag and takes it from her. “What did he say?” Erin asks. She wants to know what this guy said to set Ella off. Erin starts walking out of the airport and Ella falls into step beside her.

Ella scoffs. “He said ‘What’s your name, beautiful?’” Ella spits the words out of her mouth with disgust.

Erin smiles, tight-lipped. She understands what set Ella off. She reaches out and wraps her arm around Ella’s back, wrapping her hand around Ella’s opposite bicep and giving it a squeeze.

Ella looks over at Erin and sees the expression on her face. “You’re not mad, are you?” Ella asks.

Erin shakes her head. “Not at all.” She assures Ella. “Tell me the rest.”

Ella smiles and goes into the story. She tells Erin everything she told the guy with a satisfied smirk.

Erin has an overwhelming sense of pride as Ella tells her about everything. She can’t help but think that Ella is the most amazing person that there is and that she is lucky to have her and lucky that she is willing to stand up to any jerks that come along.

They get into the car and Erin starts driving as Ella keeps talking. Erin lets her talk all the way back to her apartment. When she pulls in the driveway, Erin puts the car into park and looks over at Ella.

Ella pauses when she notices Erin’s attention on her. “What?” She asks.

Erin shakes her head. “I love you.” She slips her fingers into Ella’s hair on the back of her head and pulls her into a hungry kiss. “I’m so proud of you. And I’m so happy.”

Ella bites her bottom lip and nods. Erin doesn’t have to say any more than that. “Let’s go inside.” Ella winks and gets out of Erin’s car.

* * *

 

“By the way, you’re not going to the game by yourself tomorrow.” Erin says as she runs her fingers through Ella’s hair.

“Oh, yeah.” Ella lifts her head off of Erin’s chest and looks up at her.

“Yeah.” Erin looks over at the clock on the nightstand next to the bed. “Actually, the person you’re going to the game with will be here in two hours for dinner.”

Ella wrinkles her face up. She pulls herself up and leans on her elbows so that she’s hovering over Erin. “Really? Who?”

Erin bites her lips and rubs it between her teeth. “My sister, Cara. We’re having dinner with her tonight.”

“Here?” Ella asks.

Erin nods. “I’m cooking.”

Ella leans down and connects her lips with Erin in another passionate kiss. “So, you’re tell me I have to get dressed.”

Erin shrugs. “Unless you want my sister to see you naked?” She says sassily.

Ella rolls her eyes. “That’s not really the first impression I’d like to make.”

“Darn.” Erin says.

Ella kisses her again. “Don’t be a brat.” She says. “That also means this is over.” Ella looks down between them, bare skin on bare skin.

Erin wiggles her fingers against Ella’s sides and Ella squirms a little. “I have to take a shower. I didn’t shower after practice. And I’m guessing you’ll want to shower as well. It could be over or-“

Ella grins. “I’ll see you in the bathroom.” She says and gets out of bed.

Erin watches as Ella slips away from her, stands, and glides across the room in all her naked glory and disappears into the hall and then into the bathroom. When Erin hears Ella turn the water on, she gets out of bed quickly and joins Ella in the shower.

* * *

 

There is a knock on the door and Erin looks over at Ella. “You ready?” Erin walks over to Ella at the couch and holds out her hand. She feels like she should warn Ella about her little sister but she doesn’t want to scare her. She helps up from the couch.

“As ready as I’m going to be.” Ella says and runs her hands over her tank top.

“You’ll be fine. Just be yourself and she’ll love you. I know I do.”

Ella smirks. “Okay, cheeseball.”

Erin rolls her eyes and leads the way to the door. She pulls the door open and Cara barges in right away. “Geez, what are you guys doing in here? Burying a body? Took you longer enough to answer the door.”

“Hello, Cara.” Erin says flatly. “And no. Very funny though.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Cara brushes past Erin. “I’m Erin’s sister, Cara.” She holds out her hand as she approaches Ella.

Ella chuckles. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Ella.” She says and shakes Cara’s hand.

“Oh, I know.” Cara says and turns to Erin. “Mom wants to know when she gets to meet her. And also, is mad that I’m the first and not her.”

“Wow.” Ella mumbles.

“What?” Cara turns back to Ella. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be so rude. It’s just that Erin seems to be keeping you all to herself. You two have been dating how long now and I’m just meeting you now. Getting information out of her is like getting words from a baby. It doesn’t happen.”

“Oh.” Ella didn’t know this. She just assumed that Erin had told her family about them dating but they never had a conversation about it or anything. Ella assumed it was because Erin’s family was spread across Canada. And it probably didn’t help that they are all the way down in Houston.

“It’s fine. It just means we have some catching up to do.” Cara says and goes to sit on the couch. “When’s dinner Erin?”

“In a few minutes.” Erin mumbles and goes back to preparing the rest of their meal.

Ella looks between the two McLeod sisters and wonders briefly if there is some tension there or if it’s just because of what Cara said when she came. Ella goes and sits on the couch with Cara. “So, Cara what do you do?”

“Oh, I’m a teacher.”

“Really?” Ella asks and Cara nods. “That’s cool. My sister’s a teacher too.” Ella looks over her shoulder. “Erin, why didn’t you tell me your sister was a teacher?” She asks.

“Yeah, Erin.” Cara adds. “Why didn’t you tell Ella that I was a teacher?”

Erin shrugs. “It never came up.” She feels bad for not telling Ella too much about her family and not telling her family about Ella. Cara had to just bring it up right away and make Erin feel guilty.

“I’d ask what you do but I know the answer to that.” Cara focuses back on her conversation with Ella.

“Uh, yeah.” Ella nods. She’s not sure how much Cara knows about her.

* * *

 

“Ella?” Cara gets out of her chair after dinner. “Can I speak with you in the bedroom?”

Erin’s at the counter cleaning up from dinner and doing the dishes. “Be nice.” Erin warns her little sister.

“Sure.” Ella says and gets up and follows Cara into the bedroom.

Cara enters the room and takes a look around. She notices the messy bed that was forgotten and never got made before Erin started on dinner. “What happened in here?” Cara asks with a smirk. She spins around to face Ella who closes the door part way.

Ella blushes a deep red. “Uh, I don’t know. Nothing.” She mumbles awkwardly. “What did you want to talk about?”

“I’ve seen Erin’s Instagram lately. I’m no idiot. My mother might not know much but I know more than I think Erin thinks. I was just giving her crap earlier. Just so you know. But, anyway, I’ve seen the photos of the two of you that she’s posted. And I’ll even admit to stalking your social media too.”

Ella laughs. “Just add me.”

“Oh, I will.” Cara says. She reaches out and takes Ella’s elbow between her thumb and index finger. Cara lowers the volume of her voice, making sure that Erin doesn’t hear them, and gets serious. “Are you really in this relationship with my sister?”

“I am.” Ella nods.

“Are you sure? Because the last person that Erin dated broke her. And I don’t want to see my sister broken like that again.” Cara admits her concerns.

Ella sees where this is going. “How?” Ella dares to ask. She wants information. Information that she knows she isn’t going to get from Erin.

Cara sighs sadly. “Hiding the relationship. Not wanting people to know. Just sort of making Erin feel ashamed of herself and not really being able embrace who she is.” She tells Ella.

Ella takes in the new information and puts it to memory. “I don’t want to do that to Erin. I have no intention of making her hide anything about herself or who she is. I’ll do everything that I can to not do that.”

Cara still has her doubts about Ella though. “How? Aren’t you a straight girl?”

Ella cocks her head to the side and furrows her brow at Cara. “Why do you say that?”

Cara looks away from Ella. She’s not proud of what she’s about to say. “Remember when I said I stalked your social media.” Ella nods and Cara goes on. “That doesn’t just mean recent photos and posts and tweets. That means old blog posts and stuff too.”

Ella’s shoulders sink and her whole body deflates. “Oh.” She sighs, knowing what article Cara is referring to. “That was three years ago. And a lot has changed in my life in that time. When I met Erin I was in a bad place. And I’ve slowly come out of that and that’s all because of Erin. She’s helped me a lot. She’s changed my life. She might be the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m lucky and I’m grateful for her being in my life every single day. She makes me a better person. The person I was three years ago doesn’t exist anymore. As painful as it is to think about those things that I said and wrote they were what I was taught to believe and I believed them. But, I don’t anymore. Obviously.” Ella pauses and takes a deep breath. “I love your sister more than I thought I could ever love anyone or anything. She means the world to me. So you can label me a straight girl or whatever but that doesn’t change my feelings for Erin.”

Cara smiles and pulls Ella into a hug. “I’m not labeling you as a straight girl. Other people might though.” Cara holds Ella at arm’s length.

“I know and don’t really care. It doesn’t matter, at the end of the day, what other people think. I’ve come to realize that. It hasn’t been easy, the last year or so, but I’m ready for whatever the world throws at me. Trust me- I know I’m gonna get shit from some people when ‘the public’ starts finding out.” Ella makes up a mock headline. “Former Jesus Freak, Ella Masar, Now Dating a Woman.” She says in a silly voice.

Cara laughs. “Oh, I like you already.” She pulls Ella into another hug. “I got your back if anyone gives you shit.” Cara tells her.

“Thanks, Cara. That means a lot.” Ella says with a smile.

Cara releases Ella from their hug. “Anything for my sister’s hot new girlfriend.”

Ella blushes. “Thanks.”

Cara laughs. “Oh, you’re adorable.” She brushes past Ella. “Erin.” Cara yells and walks back into the living room area. “Can we keep her? She’s adorable.”

Erin laughs and watches the two come over to her. She wraps her arms around Ella’s waist when she gets close enough. “She is, isn’t she.” Erin says and kisses Ella.

“Aww.” Cara coos. “Adorable.” She holds her hand to her heart.

Erin rolls her eyes at her sister. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be tonight?”

Cara scoffs. “You invited me over for dinner. To meet your woman. Now you want me gone.”

“Yes.” Erin nods. “Where’s your boyfriend? Go find him.”

“Fiancé.” Cara corrects.

“Sorry, right. Where’s your fiancé?” Erin amends.

“Guys night. I told him I was coming over here and to plan something with his friends.” Cara says back.

“Hmm.” Erin hums. “Well, you can hang around if you want but Ella and I will just be chillin’ on the couch.” Erin tells her sister.

“Chillin’, Erin?” Cara asks. Erin nods. “I think you mean hanging all over each other and cuddling and making out like teenagers on the couch.”

Erin shrugs. “That might happen too.”

Erin receives a smack on the arm from Ella. “Stop it. Cara, you can stay if you want. We can watch a movie and talk.”

Cara smiles. “Thanks, Ella.” She picks a spot on the couch and sits down.

“You’re welcome.” Ella says. “And you, be nice.” She scolds Erin.

Cara chuckles.

Erin groans and rolls her eyes. “Fine. But, just so you know, Cara’s a smartass.”

“Oh, I’ve figured that out already. But, she’s you’re sister and our guest tonight. And you can’t kick her out prematurely.” Ella says but then lightens her tone. “Can you make popcorn, honey? I’ll pick a movie.” Ella asks and Erin pouts. Ella kisses the pout from Erin’s lips. “Please?”

Erin rolls her eyes. “Fine.”

Cara chuckles. She’s loving this dynamic that Erin and Ella have.

“So, when are you getting married?” Ella asks and sits down on the opposite end of the couch from Cara.

“March.”

“Cool. Where?” Ella asks.

“Not far from here. North of the city.” Cara says. They talk about Cara’s upcoming wedding while Ella picks a movie and they wait for Erin and the popcorn.

* * *

 

Erin has a team breakfast followed by a meeting in the morning. She goes back to the apartment afterwards to find Ella sitting there flipping through the channels on the tv.

“Whatcha doing?” Erin asks.

Ella looks over at Erin. “I miss Max.” Ella pouts.

Erin chuckles. “Me too.”

“If he were here I would have taken him to the park or we could be playing here right now.” Ella points at the floor in front of the couch.

“Yeah.” Erin nods and comes over and sits down next to Ella. “You wanna find out what he’s up to with Britt and B?” Ella nods. “Okay, I’ll send a text.” Erin says as she types out a text to Brittany.

She gets a response right away. “Okay.” Erin mumbles and opens up her Facetime up and calls Brittany.

“Hey, Britt.” Erin says with excitement.

“Hi, Erin. You were asking about Max.” Brittany says.

“Ella’s here too.” Erin says and points the camera at Ella.

Ella smiles. “Where’s my boy?”

“Your boy?” Brittany questions.

Erin chuckles. “Where’s Ella’s boy?” She plays along with Ella’s antics. Erin has long ago giving up on correctly Ella when she refers to Max as her boy. In reality, Erin feels like Max is Ella’s boy now too and not just hers anymore. The way Ella loves Max is the same why that she loves Max, as if Max was Ella’s dog from the beginning. Erin loves that Ella cares so much for her dog. Erin loves that Max has accepted Ella as another owner, another mom.

“Right here.” Brittany puts the phone in front of Max.

He looks into it and sees Ella on the screen. She starts talking to him. “Hi, Max.” She says in a chipper voice. “How are you doing, buddy? Are the two B’s taking good care of you? Did you go for a walk today?”

Max barks when he hears the word walk and both Ella and Erin smile.

“Your mommy’s here too.” Ella says. “Say something Erin.”

“Hi, Max.” She waves into the phone. “Are you being a good boy?”

Max just stares at the phone as Brittany holds it for him. “You guys are ridiculous.” Brittany mumbles.

“I heard that.” Ella says with a chuckle.

“Okay. Okay.” Erin says. “That’s enough.” She says. “He’s behaving though, right Britt?”

“Yeah.” Brittany chuckles. “He’s one of the- if not the most well behaved dogs I’ve ever seen. You have nothing to worry about. And yes we went for a walk today. And we played right before lunch. Then he took a nap while I made and had lunch. Would you like me to go into detail of all the times he’s gone to the bathroom since Ella’s been gone? Which, need I remind you, is only little over a day.” Brittany rants. Though she thinks it’s cute that both of them are so concerned about Maxwell.

“Thanks, Britt.” Ella says.

“Yeah, thanks. We’re just checking in.” Erin adds.

“So, how’s everything going there?” Brittany asks.

“Good, game is later today. Just a little down time before I have to meet the team. Ella is going to the game with my sister.”

“That’s cool.” Brittany says. “I can let you go relax, if you need.” She adds.

“Yeah.” Erin mumbles. “We’ll probably check in everyday until we’re back.”

“Sounds good. Bye guys.” Brittany hangs up.

“It’s good to see Max.” Erin sighs as she sets her phone down.

“Yeah.” Ella agrees and then wraps her arm around Erin’s shoulder, pulling her into her side.

* * *

 

“Just so you know, I’m not starting. KK is. I might play the second half though.” Erin stands by the door, one hand on the knob.

“Okay. I’ll be there either way. Even if you are riding the bench.” Ella jokes.

“Funny.” Erin wrinkles up her face. “I’ll see you after the game. Okay?”

“Yep.” Ella nods. Erin leans in for a quick kiss before she has to leave.

About an hour after Erin leaves Cara come by and picks Ella up for the game. Erin ends up playing the second half of the Canada-Germany friendly. It’s a 1-2 loss.


	35. Chapter 35

They go down to the PDL headquarters mid-morning. Ella’s never been and Erin can’t wait to show her around. Erin has a full day ahead of her. Starting with introducing Ella to her work partner and then giving her a tour. After that, Erin has to try on some of the product and sees what she likes and doesn’t like. Then they are going take a bunch of photos with Erin wearing the shirts.

Erin walks in with Ella trailing closely behind her. “Adelle?” Erin calls into the room.

“Over here.” Comes from the corner.

Erin walks over to the voice and Ella follows her. “Hey there, Rockstar.” Erin says as she sees her business partner. Adelle is a rock star in Erin’s mind. She does all the work. Well, not all but most. Erin is more of just the face of the company and Adelle is the brains behind nearly everything that they do.

“Hey.” Adelle spins around. “Oh, you brought someone with you.” She smiles at Ella.

“Hello.” Ella holds out her hand. “I’m Ella.”

“I know.” Adelle nods. “Your reputation proceeds you.”

Erin laughs. “Oh boy.”

“What?” Ella asks.

“Nothing.” Adelle chuckles. “Erin just talks a lot about you.”

“Is that true?” Ella looks at Erin for and answer and Erin just shrugs.

“So, you ready to do some work today?” Adelle asks Erin.

“I was going to show Ella around first. If that’s okay?” Erin says.

“Sure.” Adelle nods. “But I want to get all the photographing done today. Okay?”

“Got it, boss.” Erin salutes Adelle. Ella and Adelle laugh. “Come on.” Erin holds out her hand for Ella.

* * *

 

Erin tried on shirt after shirt and Adelle took photos of her wearing each shirt in different combinations with different pants and even some with Erin wearing a hat. They went around the city to a number of different locations and took photos in each outfit. They even got Ella in on the action and Erin got her to put on a shirt and Adelle took photos. While fun and exciting, running around the city took all day.

Erin decided to take Ella and Adelle out to dinner afterwards to top of a successful day. Adelle talks about to things that are upcoming for the company. Ella listens intently as Erin and Adelle talk business. She finds the conversation interesting and she’s actually learned a lot about the business today and has a new admiration from the two and what they are doing.

As soon as they get home Ella goes into the bedroom and changed her clothes. She washes her face and brushes her teeth before heading out into the living room to find Erin. Erin is sitting on the couch with the tv on. The news plays on the tv screen as Ella comes over.

Erin is still wearing one of the button downs from the photoshoot. She’s sitting on the front edge of the couch cushion with her elbows on her knees as she watches the local news.

Ella stands in front of Erin, blocking her view of the tv.

“Hey, I’m watching that.” She looks up at the girl standing before her.

“Not anymore.” Ella reaches down and takes the tv remote out of Erin’s hand and turns the tv off, throwing the remote on the couch next to Erin.

“And why not?” Erin questions.

Ella doesn’t tell her. Instead, she pushes against Erin’s shoulders so Erin sits with her back to the back of the couch. Ella, then, sits down on Erin’s lap, straddling her legs. Ella fingers reach for the collar of Erin’s shirt and she starts unbuttoning the buttons.

Erin looks down and watches Ella’s fingers. “What are you doing?” She asks, not that she’s complaining, just curious.

Ella lifts her eyes from watching as her fingers work on the buttons. She looks into Erin’s eyes but she keeps working on undoing the buttons. “Watching you today-“ Ella licks her lips. “-trying on all those different shirts- and clothes in general. Modeling them.” Ella swallows thickly. She gets to the last button and undoes it. Ella looks down quickly to check that she got all the buttons. She did and the shirt hangs open. “I don’t think I completely realized just how sexy you truly are until today.” Ella leans forward and attaches her lips to Erin’s briefly.

Ella slips her hands inside Erin’s shirt and sets them on Erin’s hips. “And- I don’t think I’ve fully appreciated that in the past.” Ella squeezes Erin’s hips. “That changes today. I fully intend to appreciate every sexy inch of you.” Ella smirks.

Erin’s eyes are wide. “Is that so?” Finding this scenario a huge turn on right now.

Ella nods. “Yeah. I’ve not done a very good job of that. And I know that’s on me. You should know that that’s on me. And that has nothing to do with you.” Ella tells Erin honestly. “I know you sometimes have- uh issues- with-” Ella stutters awkwardly.

“You can say it.” Erin tells her.

“Body image.” Ella says. “I know that’s something that you struggle with and I know that there’s not much I can do to help. But, there is one thing I can do and that’s love you for who you are inside and out. Erin, I want you to remember that. I love you. You’re stunning. And sexy. And you tell me all the time, but you’re beautiful too. I know I don’t say those things enough.” Ella slides her hands up Erin’s sides, wiggling her fingers a little. “You’re incredibly breathtaking.” Ella lowers her head and kisses Erin’s exposed collarbone.

Erin sucks in a quick breath. She didn’t expect this from Ella. But then again Ella is full of surprises every day. “Ella, I don’t-“ Erin gets a little choked up. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. You don’t have to do anything.” Ella reaches up and takes Erin’s face in her hands. “I love you. I love your body. I’m just going to ask you to lay down and I’m gonna show you how much. Let me take care of you.” Ella searches Erin’s eyes. She waits until she gets a nod from Erin and then she gets off of Erin’s lap. Ella stands in front of her and holds out her hand.

Erin places her hand and her trust in Ella’s hands and Ella leads them to the bedroom.

* * *

 

 “What do you have planned for today, Ms. McLeod?” Ella rolls over into Erin’s body.

Erin sighs and runs her fingers through Ella’s hair. “Well, I want to go shopping.”

Ella chuckles. “Of course.” She folds her hands together on Erin’s upper arm and rests her chin on them.

Erin smiles. “But after I thought maybe we could go down to the water.”

“Like the beach?” Ella asks. “I didn’t bring a swimsuit.”

Erin shakes her head. “Yes, the beach. The Pacific Ocean. But, you don’t need a swimsuit.”

“Well, I’m not going in the water in my clothes.” Ella tells Erin. “And I’m not going naked.”

Erin smirks. “What about in your underwear?”

“Funny, but no.” Ella kisses Erin’s shoulder.

“Okay, fine. We’re not going in the water. We can just look and enjoy the view. I could bring a blanket and we could sit on the beach or we could walk along the water’s edge. I just thought it might be nice.” Erin shrugs. She hopes that her idea doesn’t sound too lame to Ella. It’s not swimming, it’s more of a look and see event.

“It sounds great.” Ella pushes herself up on her elbows. “I’m gonna go get dressed and then make coffee. You want some.”

“Sure.” Erin nods. “I think I’m gonna shower but get me a cup once it’s ready.” She leans up and reaches for Ella’s lips. Ella grants Erin’s request for a kiss and then gets out of bed. “Thanks, babe.” Erin says as Ella exits her bedroom.

* * *

 

Erin lays a blanket down for them to sit on at the beach. It’s a bright, sunny day in Vancouver. The perfect weather to go down to the beach. Not too windy with warm temperatures.

“Thanks.” Ella mumbles and sits down. Erin follows, and sits next to her.

“Great view, isn’t it?” Erin says.

“Yeah, stunning.” Ella comments and looks out across the water.

They sit and just watch the water for a little while. Erin watches as the boats go by. The ships going into the harbor and the people taking their private boats out for an afternoon boat ride. Ella mostly focuses on the nature. The area around them the sand, the water, the sky, everything. The birds flying overhead.

After about ten minutes Ella pulls her shirt over her head. “What are you doing?” Erin asks.

“Sunbathing.” Ella says and lays back.

Erin chuckles and lays back too, not taking her shirt off though. Erin falls sleep in the warm sun, shortly.

“Erin.” Ella asks as she switches to her belly in order to give her back some sun too. She doesn’t get a response. She pokes Erin’s arm with her finger but Erin doesn’t even twitch. Ella smiles and continues her sun bath.

Ella wakes Erin up when she’s done. She doesn’t want Erin to get sunburned by laying in one position for too long. “Erin.” She shakes Erin’s arm. “Erin, let’s go for a walk.” Ella shakes.

“Wha?” Erin walks up groggily. She blinks a few times as she realizes that she’s on the beach. She turns her head to her left and looks at Ella.

“Let’s walk along the water.” Ella suggests. Erin nods. They get up and Erin folds up the blanket and puts it into the backpack that she brought along.

Once all packed up, Erin looks to Ella for what to do. Ella leads them to the water’s edge each with their shoes in hand. Erin starts walking in the water, only a few inches deep. They walk along side by side. Erin starts kicking up the water and it splashes against Ella’s legs.

“Stop it.” Ella tells Erin.

“But, I’m having fun.” Erin whines.

“Well, you’re getting me wet.” Ella says.

Erin smirks. “Dirty.” She mumbles.

“You’re a child.” Ella picks up her pace and walks ahead of Erin.

“Hey, where you going?” Erin whines.

“Away from you and your splashing.” Ella says.

Erin stops splashing about and runs to catch up to Ella. “I’m sorry.” She says as she reaches Ella. Erin reaches out for Ella’s left hand and takes it. But Ella pulls her hand from Erin’s. “I’ll stop splashing. I promise.” Erin begs.

Ella looks over at Erin. “Really?” Erin nods and holds out her hand for Ella. “Only if you don’t splash anymore.” Ella says about Erin’s hand.

“Okay.” Erin says. Ella takes Erin’s hand and they continue on their walk along the edge of the water until they have to turn around and go back to the car.

* * *

 

Erin looks to her right. At a sleeping Ella. They are probably about halfway through their flight back to Houston. Erin sighs happily. She feels great and rejuvenated after spending some time at home. And after spending some quality alone time with Ella. Erin is excited about the remainder of the Dash season. Hopeful and optimistic about what the team can do the remainder of the season. She couldn’t be happier to have Ella by her side for this journey. Erin feels like she got so lucky with the way things have worked out in the last year or so. For them to be together, playing on the same team, in the same city. It’s a dream. And it’s happening.

Erin watches Ella sleep for a little bit before going back to working on her computer.

* * *

 

Ella opens up her Instagram page and checks on the photo that she posted a couple hours ago of herself wearing a Peau De Loup shirt from the photoshoot that Erin did a few days before. She starts reading the comments and spots the one from Erin. She smiles when she first reads the words. ‘I’d date you’ followed by a winky face emoji. Ella lets it sink in for a moment.

“ERIN.” Ella yells through the house. She waits.

Erin hears Ella yelling and smiles. She comes out of her room and goes to the top of the stairs. “Yes?” Erin asks.

Ella looks over at the stairs from one of the chairs in the living room when she hears Erin’s voice but doesn’t see her. “Come down here.”

“I don’t know if I should. Why?” Erin asks.

Ella shakes her head. “You’re dead meat, McLeod.” She threatens.

“Only if you can catch me.” Erin says and turns around and walks back to her room. Ella smirks and gets off the couch, accepting the challenge. She runs over to the stairs and takes them two at a time. Erin hears Ella’s feet on the stairs as she shuts her bedroom door. She knows it will only be seconds before Ella comes busting through her door.

Ella turns the knob as soon as she gets to the door. She opens it and sees Erin standing there facing her, with her arms folded over her chest, and a smirk on her lips. Ella shuts the door and crosses the room in three steps and tackles Erin onto the bed and sits on the top of her.

“Oww, you’re squishing me.” Erin fake whines.

“Oh, you poor baby.” Ella plays along. She gets off of Erin and sits next to her. “Are you hurt anywhere? Should I kiss it and make it all better?”

Erin raises a surprised eyebrow. Ella took this in a turn she wasn’t expecting. “Right here.” Erin points to her lower arm, just above her wrist.

“Oh yeah?” Ella ask. Erin nods and Ella takes Erin’s hand and leans forward to press her lips to the spot that Erin pointed to. “Better?” Ella asks and Erin nods. “You know, you’re still dead meat.”

“I’m alive. So not dead meat. At the very least, alive meat.” Erin grins.

Ella grins. “You think you’re cute, don’t you?” Ella shifts her hand around to thread her fingers between Erin’s.

Erin nods vigorously. “Yeah.”

“Well, sometimes you are.” Ella says and leans in to kiss Erin.

“Only sometimes?” Erin asks.

“Yeah, the rest of the time you’re a brat.”

“Hey.” Erin grumbles and frowns.

Ella giggles. “Don’t worry. It doesn’t mean I like you any less.” She grins.

Erin smacks Ella on the arm.

“Soooo…” Ella draws out.

“So, what?” Erin asks.

“You’d date me?” Ella wiggles her eyebrows in reference to the comment that Erin left on her Instagram photo.

Erin shrugs. “I mean, yeah.”

“Yeah?” Ella question with a devilish smile.

“I would.” Erin nods. “You’re hot.”

“You think so.” Ella plays along a little.

“I know so.” Erin and pulls Ella in for a kiss.

* * *

 

It’s after they finished filming with the Brazilians and Erin is looking at a funny video that her sister sent her on her phone. Erin laughs and it catches Ella’s attention from across the room. She’s talking to Ben. “Yeah, this looks good. Just edit out the long pauses and it will be ready to upload.” Ella tells him about the video.

“Okay. Anything else?” Ben asks.

Ella looks over in Erin’s direction. “No.” She shakes her head. “Excuse me.”

Ella leaves Ben’s side and goes over to Erin. Ella slips behind Erin and looks over her shoulder, down at the phone. “What’s so funny?” She whispers in Erin’s ear.

“This video Cara sent me.” Erin wiggles the phone. “Look.”

Ella leans into Erin’s back and watches the rest of the video of a dog running around chasing its tail that has a string tied to it. “Cute.” Ella comments as the video ends.

“Yep.” Erin looks over her shoulder at Ella. “Well, should we go home?” She asks.

Ella looks up as Kika and Rafa walk by. “Girls, hold up.” Ella stops them. They both turn with raised eyebrows. Ella reaches for Erin’s phone and snatches it out of her hand.

“Hey.” Erin protests. Ella brings the phone with her as she leaves Erin sitting on the chair in the middle of the locker room.

“Can one of you take our picture?” Ella asks her two Brazilian teammates and holds out Erin’s phone to them.

Kika takes the phone and Ella gets back into her position behind Erin. She leans into her back like she had been when she was watching the video. She slips her hands underneath Erin’s arm and slides them forward so they are sort of in Erin’s lap. “Okay.” Ella gives permission for the photo to be taken.

“Say cheese.” Kika says and snaps a picture. She takes three pictures in total and then gives the phone back to Ella.

Ella nods in approval. “Thanks ladies. You can go about your day now.” She grins and they turn to leave.

Ella hands the phone back to Erin. “Send me that.” She tells Erin. “Let’s go home.”

* * *

 

“Do you think that there’s something in us that makes us good or bad people?” Ella asks as Erin is sketching.

Erin lies on her stomach, leaning on her elbows, her sketch book in front of her. She looks over her shoulder, back at Ella, who is sitting on the bed with her back to the headboard. She wraps her hand around Ella’s ankle. “Why do you ask?”

Ella shrugs. “I was just thinking about making the right decisions. We’ve been talking about being better people. But, do you think that some people have something written in their DNA that makes them bad? Like evil people.”

Erin thinks about the question for a few seconds. She rolls onto her side as she tries to look at Ella without having to twist her neck around all awkwardly. “I think- that maybe- there is. The really bad people. Serial killers. But it probably has something to do with the environment they were raised in too. Everyone has good and bad in them. I think the bad people could be good if they had the right environment around them. I don’t really know though. I’m not like a doctor or whatever. What do you think?”

Ella frowns. “I think everything happens for a reason. Even the bad stuff. That there are decisions we make that shape how things happen or turn out.”

Erin hums. “Yeah.”

“I’ve made bad decisions in the past that have led to bad things happening. But also, I’ve done bad things and they seem to have no rhyme or reason to them. I was just trying to figure out if there was a difference. You know what I’m saying?” Ella asks.

Erin gets the jest of it. “If you make a conscious effort to be a better person, to make better choices, I don’t you can go wrong. It’s a process. And you gotta believe in the choices and decisions that you make. You have to believe that people are mostly good. That the bad ones are lost or broken. Isn’t that the whole point. To believe that people are good, that they can change, that they can make better choices. I think you have to have hope that society as a whole is more better than not. If not, I don’t think people would survive. We would have all killed each other by now.”

Ella nods. “Do you ever think abouy the decisions you’ve made? Good and bad. And how they’ve shaped your life.”

“Sure.” Erin shrugs. “What are you thinking about?” She knows that this discussion stems from something specific on Ella’s part. That she’s probably thinking about specific decisions she’s would or will have to make in the future.

“The future.”

“Oh?”

Ella nods. “For so long- I was stuck on the past, in the past. But, I’ve realized recently that I’ve gotten over that, past that. Sure, I still think about it. And sometimes it bothers me. But, mostly, I’ve made my peace with the past. My past.”

“That’s good.” Erin says. She shuts her sketch book and drops it and her pencil off the side of the bed and onto the floor. Erin lays her head on Ella’s lower leg, focusing intently on the conversation and what Ella is telling her.

“Yeah.” Ella has the tiniest of smiles on her face. “For the first time, in a long time, I find myself thinking about the future. And I wonder if the choices, if the decisions I’m making today are good enough. This might be early yet but the offseason is coming in less than two months and I have to make the right decisions now. The decisions that will affect and shape the future.” Ella looks over and out the window.

“It’s a funny thing. I feel I was just here. It was a year ago though. Little bit of déjà vu. Trying to make the right choices for the upcoming offseason. Thinking back, I made decisions that I needed to make at the time. Were they the right ones. Yes, and no. Were they bad decision? No. But here I am again.” Ella looks back to Erin. “Here we are- doing the same thing. Except this year- this time it feels bigger. More important. I don’t have just me to think about. And what’s best for me. I guess what I’m saying is- I’m thinking about our future Erin.”

Erin smiles and pats at Ella’s knee. “And what are you thinking? What do you want to happen in the offseason?” Erin has put some thought into this topic but it’s clear to her right now that she hasn’t thought about it nearly as much as Ella has.

Ella takes a deep breath. “I’ll have to figure out something for an off-season workout program.”

“What about playing somewhere?” Erin asks. “Europe?”

Ella shakes her head. “I don’t wanna do that this year.”

“Why?” Erin questions. “I thought you did that every year when the US season was over.”

“I have. In the past.” Ella bits at her lip. “Things have changed now.” Erin raises an eyebrow at Ella. “You.” Ella says. “I don’t want to be half a country, or continent, or world away. Like last year. That’s too hard. Especially now.” Erin smiles as Ella keeps talking. “I want to be where you are. I want to be in the same city as you this offseason.”

“Even if that means not being in the US, not being by your family?” Erin dares.

“Yes.” Ella says simply.

Erin props herself up on her right elbow and licks her lips. “Well, I’ve been thinking about something since we were in Vancouver last week.”

“What?”

“Move in with me.” Erin says bluntly.

Slowly, Ella’s lips lift at the corners. Slowly, a full smile blooms on her face. “You’re serious?”

Erin nods. “Yeah. Live with me.” She feels like it’s the next step. The next logical step.

“Come here.” Ella reaches for Erin’s arm. She tugs at it as Erin moves closer to her upper body. “This is one of those moments. One of those choices. That are going to shape the future. Our future.”

“I know.” Erin agrees. “And I know it’s a big step. And I know that it’s a long ways away from Chicago and Illinois. But, more or less, the future is now. Whadaya say?”

Ella doesn’t hesitate with the choice that she makes. “Yes.”

“Awesome.” Erin whispers and leans in for a long slow kiss. “Hmm, I love you. You know that right?”

Ella laughs. “I do.” She licks her lips. “And I love you.” She pulls Erin in for another kiss.

“Will you sit next to me?” Ella asks with hopeful eyes.

“Sure why?” Erin says and sits right next to Ella, hip to hip.

“I wanna do something.” Ella says and reaches for her phone on the nightstand. She opens her photo album on her phone. “Let’s pick a photo.”

“Of?” Erin asks.

“The two of us. Which one do you like?” Ella shows Erin all the little thumbnails of the photos.

Erin looks and points at the one she likes best. “The one from the other day. After the taping.” She points to the photo that Kika took of them in the locker room after they taped the Samba episode with the Brazilians.

“Really?” Ella asks.

Erin nods vigorously. “It’s very cute.”

Ella presses her lips to Erin’s cheek quickly. “You’re very cute.” Ella opens up her Instagram app and adds the photo.

“What are you doing?” Erin asks curiously.

Ella smiles smugly. “You’ll see. What should I write? Give me a quote. Something from today, something we just talked about.”

Slowly, very slowly Erin realizes what Ella is doing. She looks at the photo and thinks. She chooses her words slowly, carefully, knowing full well that Ella is going to use exactly what she says. Erin looks over at Ella, locking eyes with her. “I believe in love.” She says. Ella nods and Erin knows that this is exactly what Ella wants. “I believe in choice.” She relates it to their discussion earlier. “And I believe in people.” Erin says, believing in Ella with everything that she has in this moment. “Isn’t that the point.” She closes the distance between them and kisses Ella tenderly.

Erin feels like she’s floating on cloud. She feels like she is being giving one of the biggest gifts in her entire life. Ella is about to make a big statement. Sure, they’ve posted photos with and of each other for the last couple of months but nothing like this. Nothing with a caption like this. Nothing so personal and revealing. It’s something that her ex wasn’t willing to do.

Ella types out the words that Erin just told her and then adds a few words of her own to the photo of her and Erin. The photo of Erin sitting on a chair in the locker room with Ella standing behind her with her arms wrapped around Erin from behind. ‘I believe in love, I believe in choice, and in people… Isn’t that the point?! @erinmcleod1… The truth could not be more simple. Cheers to the person that inspires me everyday. #Proud #Pride #Love.’

“How’s that?” Ella holds the phone out for Erin to see. “Is that okay?”

Erin looks it over and nods. “It’s perfect. I love you. Thank you.”

Ella hits post and puts her phone down. She reaches up and sets her palm on Erin’s cheek. “Anything for you, baby.” She kisses Erin deeply.

 


	36. Chapter 36

As soon as Erin sees the hit she starts running towards midfield. Possibly even before Ella’s body hits the ground. All she needed to see was the Boston player colliding with Ella’s back and for Ella to go spinning through the air before her legs are moving.

She pulls Kaylyn out of the way when she gets to Ella. “Give her some room.” Erin instructs. She bends over and puts a gentle hand on Ella’s shoulder. “You okay?” She asks.

Ella doesn’t say anything.

“Ella?” Erin calls her name with worry.

Ella groans in response and Erin can breathe a little easier.

The training staff comes over and they take control of the situation and assess Ella’s condition. Erin groups up her teammates and they wait until the staff can get Ella up and off the field and back to the locker room. The game starts up again and it’s only a couple of minutes before it’s over.

Erin skips signing autographs and goes straight to the locker room after handshakes, stretches, and a team huddle. She goes in and throws her gloves on a chair and goes to find Ella and the athletic trainer. She has to check a few room before she finds them in a small, quiet room next to the main training room.

Ella is laying on her back on a table with a towel over her face. “How is she?” Erin asks the trainer, who is standing at the end of the table writing on a clipboard.

As soon as Ella hears Erin’s voice she reaches up and lifts the towel off of her left eye. She squints into the light. It hurts her eyes and her head.

“Concussion. Large lump on the back of her head which she is icing right now. Pretty nasty hit to the head.” The trainer looks over at Erin. “Gonna have to have someone keep a close eye on her tonight.”

Erin nods and steps up next to the table. “Yeah, I’ll do it.” She volunteers naturally.

“O-kay.” The trainer says hesitantly. “She’s sensitive to bright light. I don’t want her doing anything on the computer, phone, and no tv. Nothing electronic. Should ice the bump once for twenty minutes for the first three hours, starting now. I gave her some Tylenol. She can take another dose in five to six hours if she wants, if the headache is still there. And no driving.” The trainer tells Erin all of Ella’s restrictions. “I want to see you in here tomorrow afternoon. I’ll reevaluate you then and everyday there after until all the concussion symptoms have gone and then I can clear you to play.” The trainer tells Ella.

“Okay.” Ella says softly.

The trainer smiles and nods at Ella and then Erin. “I gotta go see if there are any other bumps or bruises.” The athletic trainer exits and leaves Ella alone in the room with Erin.

“How you feeling?” Erin asks softly.

“My head hurts.” Ella whimpers.

Erin nods and puts her hand on Ella’s shoulder and gives it a squeeze. She knows she’s in for a long night, and possibly, a long few days. “How long do you need to stay here?”

“Until this ice pack isn’t really cold anymore.” Ella says.

Erin nods. “I’m gonna go change and find B and Britt. I’ll be right back.” She informs Ella.

Ella just covers her eyes again with the towel as Erin leaves.

As promised, Erin comes back a few minutes later. She talked to Bianca and Brittany and asked if they could get someone else to bring them back to the house. She also changed and grabbed her bag and Ella’s and already brought them out to Ella’s car.

“Are you ready to go?” Erin asks.

Ella pulls the towel off and tries to set up but is a little wobbly. Erin is there to catch her. She wraps her hand around Ella’s arm and steadies her. “Woah, tiger.” Erin jokes. It gets a weak smile from Ella. “Okay, let’s get you home.” Erin says. She helps Ella down from the table and then keeps her hand around Ella’s upper arm.

“I can walk, ya know.” Ella tells Erin even though she feels unsteady on her feet.

“Humor me.” Erin makes a goofy face.

Erin gets Ella out to the car and makes sure she’s safely fastened into the passenger’s seat and then gets in on the driver’s side. Erin has to push the seat back so she can even fit behind the steering wheel. She’s never driven Ella’s car before. It’s a weird, uncomfortable feeling but she’s going to do her best.

They get back to the house and Britt and Bianca are waiting at the door when Erin pulls into the driveway. Bianca rushes out to help Ella get out of the car. Ella has her eyes pinched closed together. It was a rough ride from the field to the house. All the nighttime lights hurt Ella’s head more than it already had.

Brittany holds the door open and Ella gets inside the house. “Thanks, guys.” Ella whispers.

“Let’s get upstairs.” Erin says as she comes up behind them. “B, can you take Max for his walk?”

“Sure thing, captain.” Bianca says with a little chuckle. “Max.” She calls for the dog and he comes over to her and she works on getting his leash on and then they leave right away.

“Anything I can do?” Brittany asks.

Erin thinks about the question and then shakes her head. “I think I can take it from here.”

“Okay. Feel better Ella.” Brittany says as Ella is already halfway up the stairs.

Ella raises a hand in the air to acknowledge that she heard and is thanking Brittany. Erin follows Ella up the stairs. They go into Ella’s room and Ella sits down on the edge of the bed. “I’ll get you something to change into for the night.” Erin says as she looks over at Ella. Ella still has her game uniform on, minus only the cleats. “Do you wanna take a shower, oh, or bath? That might be nice. A bath.” Erin suggests.

“No. I just want to lay down.”

“Okay, fair enough.” Erin goes over to Ella’s dresser and gets out a tank top and pair of sweatpants and brings them over to Ella. “You got this? Or?” Erin asks awkwardly.

Ella’s lips curl at the corners. “I can change myself.”

“Okay, sorry. I didn’t mean-“

“Don’t apologize.” Ella says and pulls her jersey over her head. “It’s sweet. Your offer.”

Erin’s cheeks heat up and she bites her lip. She watches as Ella takes her bra off and pulls the tank top over her head. And waits as Ella pulls her shorts and socks off before putting the sweatpants on. “Can you get me some clean socks?” Ella asks.

“Yep.” Erin hurries over to the dresser and finds socks and brings them back to Ella.

“Thanks.” Ella whispers. She doesn’t feel like talking much. Mostly because her head hurts and it hurts worse every time she speaks. Ella stands once she gets her socks on her feet and peels the blankets back on the bed before getting in and laying down.

“Do you need me to do anything?” Erin asks from next to the bed.

“No.” Ella lays down and closes her eyes. “Actually, the lights. Off.”

Erin goes over to the light switch next to the bedroom door and flicks it off. “I’m gonna go get something to eat. Do you want anything?” Erin asks. She gets a no from Ella. “Okay, I’ll be right back.”

Erin goes down to the kitchen and makes a sandwich. Bianca and Max come in just as she is finishing. “Hey, buddy.” Erin smiles at her pup. Her mind is a jumble right now and she’s trying to hold everything together but she feels like she’s just barely. Erin takes a bite of her sandwich and sits at the table to eat the rest.

“Ella in bed?” B asks.

“Yeah.” Erin nods her head. “I’m gonna eat and go back up there. Bring Maxwell with me. Thanks for taking him for a walk.”

“No problem.” Bianca smiles. “Well, I’m gonna head to my room if there’s nothing else.”

“No, I got it.” Erin nods.

“Have a fun night.” B says and walks out of the kitchen. She knows Erin is going to be awake most of the night.

Erin reenters the room after showering and changing into pajamas for the night. She has an ice pack in one hand and Max under her other arm. She quietly goes over to the bed, through the dark, and sets Max on the bed. He walks over to Ella and sniffs at her. “Be gentle, buddy.” Erin whispers. “Ella doesn’t feel well.”

He seems to take Erin’s words to heart and curls up at Ella’s hip, resting his chin on her hipbone. Erin smiles at her boy, he’s so in tune with everyone’s feelings all the time. She gives him a pat on the back as she climbs onto the bed too.

“Are you awake?” Erin whispers.

Ella clears her throat. “Yeah.”

“I brought an ice pack.” Erin says and holds out the ice pack.

Ella takes it and puts it between her head and the pillow. “Thanks.”

“Is there anything else I can do?” Erin asks.

“No.” Ella says shortly.

“Okay.” Erin lays down next to Ella. On top of the blankets though. She careful not to disturb Max from his spot as she turns onto her side to face Ella. Erin lays there, staring at the side of Ella’s face. Ella lays with her eyes closed. “Do you think you’ll be able to sleep?” Erin asks.

“Probably not.” Ella says.

“Oh.” Erin mumbles. She bites her lip and tries to think of something else to fills the strange silence of the room. “Do you want me to get you anything?”

Ella sighs and turns her head to the side slightly, so she can look at Erin. “No. And I don’t want to be short with you but I don’t want to talk. It hurts my head. I might also sound and act like a bitch and I’m sorry for that. But I don’t feel the greatest.”

“Oh.” Erin is a little shocked at Ella’s bluntness but she’s going to blame the injury. “I can stay here though, right?” Erin asks.

“Of course.” Ella reaches blindly for Erin hand and finds it with a little help. She gives it a squeeze.

“Okay, and you’ll let me know if you need anything?” Erin wants to make sure.

“Yes.”

“Kay.” Erin mumbles.

Ella looks straight forward again, at the ceiling, and closes her eyes.

Erin curls into Ella’s side further and gets more comfortable. She holds Ella’s hand, over Ella’s stomach, and rubs her thumb back and forth. Being in bed brings a slight sense of calm over Erin that she hasn’t had since before the injury, since before the game actually. Her mind is slowing down and she finally replays the events of the evening for the first time.

“That was really scary.” Erin whispers. She doesn’t know if Ella is awake or not.

“What?” Ella asks.

“Watching.” Erin moves her head from the pillow to Ella’s shoulder. “Is this okay?” She wants to make sure.

“Yeah.” Ella mumbles.

“Watching was really scary. I don’t think I’ve ever been scared like that during a game before.” Erin gulps. “I didn’t like it. To watch, helplessly, as the person I love goes flying through the air, spinning, and then hitting the ground like a sack of bricks. That’s scary.”

“Oh.” Ella says.

“Oh?” Erin lifts her head off of Ella’s shoulder and looks at her face.

Ella’s face is wrinkled up. “I- uh- don’t remember. I must’ve blacked out.”

Erin doesn’t like the sound of that either. “Ella.” She sighs.

“Sorry.” Ella shrugs.

Erin rests the side of her head back on Ella’s shoulder. “I saw you spinning through the air and I left my box immediately. I was at midfield as soon as possible. You don’t remember me asking you if you were okay.”

“Nope.”

Erin huffs out a frustrated breath. She decides that it’s not worth it to try and talk to Ella about this, especially if she doesn’t remember. But as she lays there and the minutes tick by in silence the more it eats at Erin. At first, it just a sniffle or two. But then Erin is rubbing her eyes.

Erin makes enough noise to bother Ella enough to have her opening her eyes. “Hey.” She says as she looks at Erin. “Are you crying?”

Erin nods and buries her face in Ella’s arm. “Don’t cry, honey. It’s alright. I’m gonna be alright. There aren’t even any broken bones.” Ella tries to joke but Erin isn’t having it.

“I just- I really love you, Ella. I don’t wanna see you get hurt.” Erin mumbles through her tears.

“I love you too. I’m tough. I’ll be fine. Your concern is greatly appreciated but don’t worry about me.” Ella puts up a tough demeanor.

“But- I love you. How can I not worry?” Erin cries.

Ella doesn’t know what to say. Not right now. She lifts her head up off the pillow despite the pain she feels and presses her lips to the top of Erin’s head. “I love you.” She says what she does know.

Ella wraps her arm around Erin and holds her to her right side. She lets Erin cry it out. Ella closes her eyes and waits it out. She listens and after a couple of minutes she doesn’t hear anymore sniffling and Erin settles beside her. She wishes she could do more but knows she can’t. She can barely lift her head off of the pillow, anything else would be far too painful.

It’s quite for a long while.

“Erin?” Ella whispers.

“Yeah.” Erin lifts her head off of Ella’s shoulder at the sound of her name. Ready to get anything Ella needs.

“Ice pack’s warm.” Ella smirks and lifts her head.

Erin slips the ice pack from off the pillow and Ella gently puts her head back down. “Do you need anything?” Erin asks.

“No.” Ella says with a little irritation. She told Erin that if she needed anything she would let her know. She sort of wishes that Erin would stop asking her that question. She knows Erin is concerned but it’s getting sort of annoying.

Forty-five minutes later Erin takes the warm ice pack and goes downstairs to get a fresh, cold one out of the freezer. She come back to Ella’s room with her two glasses of water and the bottle of Tylenol for later.

“Here’s another ice pack.” Erin whispers as she gets back into bed after putting the water and meds on the nightstand. Ella lifts her head and Erin slips the ice pack under the back of her head. Neither say a word as they both lay back down.

* * *

 

Erin had set the alarm for 2:30. When it goes off it scares the crap out of her and she nearly jumps out of bed. It does that to Max. He jumps off the bed and ducks underneath it. Ella just groans at the noise until Erin can shut it off.

“Sorry.” Erin mumbles as she fumbles to get the alarm to stop. She must have fallen asleep. Erin didn’t mean to but figures it was probably inevitable. “Do you want some more Tylenol?”

“Sure.” Ella mumbles.

“Sorry about the alarm. I set it in case I fell asleep. And I guess I did.” Erin rolls over and gets the Tylenol and water. She hands two pills to Ella and Ella puts them in her mouth and Erin hands her the water. Ella sits up on her elbows and takes a long drink. “Did you get any sleep?” Erin asks.

“A little.”

Erin hums. She doesn’t really have any more questions for Ella right now. Ella hands her back what remains of the glass of water and Erin puts it back. Ella is settled again and has her eyes closed by the time Erin turns around again. She frowns and decides to let Ella rest. Erin lays down next to her and watches Ella. She watches until her eyes start to drift closed again. Erin fights it but eventually falls asleep again.

* * *

 

Ella wakes up and it’s light in the room. She knows it’s morning. Ella raises her right hand to her head, rubbing at her forehead. It’s still hurts. She wonders if she has a bump on the back of her head and rolls onto her right side, towards a sleeping Erin. Ella reaches for the back of her head and feels the bump there. It’s tender and she sighs knowing it’s going to take a while to heal. She looks upon Erin for few moments as she sleeps. It never fails to amaze Ella how cute Erin can be sometimes. Sleep is one of those times. With her mouth slightly ajar, and her hair a mess, and sleeping peacefully. “Thank you.” Ella whispers, feeling lucky to have Erin. She presses her lips to Erin’s forehead and gets out of bed. Ella grabs the Tylenol and she exits the room, taking Max with her and letting Erin sleep.

Max follows Ella down the hall and then down the stair and into the kitchen. “Morning.” Ella greets Brittany, who is sitting at the table having breakfast.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Brittany asks.

“My head hurts. Do we have orange juice?” Ella opens the fridge and finds the answer. She gets a glass and pours some orange juice so she can take two more Tylenol.

Ella sits down with her orange juice at the table across from Brittany. Max takes up a spot next to Ella’s chair and whines. “What?” Ella looks down at the dog. “You wanna sit with me?” She asks in a baby voice. Max stares up at Ella and she smiles and picks him up and puts him on her lap.

She looks over at Brittany. “What?” She asks when she sees Brittany smiling at her.

Brittany nods at Max. “He might be with you more than he’s with Erin.”

“That’s cuz Max loves me. And he knows I’m not feeling well. He wants to protect me.” Ella explains.

“And the rest of the time? When you’re not injured?” Brittany asks.

Ella shrugs.

“Where’s Erin?” Brittany asks.

“Sleeping. She had a rough night.” Ella says.

“What about you? Did you sleep any?” Brittany questions.

“Not much.” Ella shrugs. “But, the sun is up. I wasn’t getting any sleep anyway so I’m up. Nothing I can do about it. I wish this damn headache would go away though.” She pets Max.

Brittany nods. “That sucks. That was a nasty hit that you took.”

“So I’ve been told.” Ella frowns. “I don’t remember it.”

“Probably for the best.” Brittany tells her and Ella nods.

Ella sits there and finishes her orange juice. “I’m gonna go shower.” She’s not really looking forward to it but thinks it couldn’t hurt anything. She knows she needs to shower. Ella didn’t get the chance after the game last night. She knows she smells bad and she wonders briefly how Erin could even stand it all night. Ella doesn’t like stinky things or stinky people.

She goes with Max back to her room and gets some clean clothes. Erin is still sound asleep and Ella makes Max stay in the room with Erin when she goes to shower.

When she’s done, and feeling fresh and clean, Ella goes back to her room. Erin’s still asleep and Max is up on the bed. Ella lets them be and goes back downstairs to eat. She didn’t get anything after the game last night and is kind of starving now. She feels good enough to eat now too.

Ella is sitting at the table with Brittany eating her breakfast. She shoves forkfuls of omelet into her mouth one after the other. Brittany chuckles. “It’s like you haven’t eaten in years.”

“I’m hungry.” Ella says with a mouthful of food. “Shut up.”

Brittany laughs.

“What’s so funny?” Erin comes into the kitchen.

Ella looks up and over at Erin as she chews.

“Ella.” Brittany says simply.

“You’re eating?” Erin asks and Ella nods in response. “Did you make me any?” Erin asks and Ella shakes her head this time. Erin folds her arms over her chest. “How are you feeling?” Erin moves to the more important questions. “How’s your head? Do you feel better than last night? How did you sleep?”

Ella scoffs. “I’m fine.” She says stubbornly. It was nice when Erin was helping out last night. It was sweet even but Ella can take care of herself. She’s a big girl and knows when she’s fine and when she’s not. She knows her body. “I showered. I’m eating. I’m fine.” Ella says defensively.

Erin frowns. “Crabby.” She mumbles and goes over to get something to eat.

Ella finishes her food quickly. She gets up and puts her plate and silverware in the sink, glancing over at Erin but not saying anything to her. Ella leaves the kitchen silently.

Erin hangs her head and sighs as the kitchen door closes.

“Don’t blame her. She’s got a headache and didn’t sleep much. That would make anyone irritable.” Brittany tells Erin in an attempt to make her feel better.

“I know.” Erin says glumly.

* * *

 

Ella stays in her room all morning. She can’t do much so she listens to music at a low volume, with her eyes closed, lying in bed. She’s not surprised when Erin leaves her alone until lunch. And then Erin just knocks on the door and asks Ella if she is hungry. Ella tells Erin that she’s not and Erin leaves. She’s not surprised when Erin drops Max off at her room after lunch and says that she’s going to the grocery store.

Ella realizes that maybe she shouldn’t have been so rude to Erin in the morning. She knows that’s why Erin has left her alone all day. She doesn’t feel well and she can’t do anything but Ella wishes that she could do nothing _with_ Erin. Ella knows she probably hurt Erin’s feelings. Ella just wanted to do things for herself and not be babied about how she feels and all that sort of stuff.

She gets up and goes to Brittany’s bedroom door and knocks. “Come in.” Brittany says.

Ella enters the room and sits on the edge of the bed. “I’m bored.”

“When do you have to go see the doc?” Brittany asks. Erin told her that Ella needs to see the team trainer in the afternoon.

Ella shrugs. “Couple hours.”

Brittany nods. “Well, I was reading. We could do something until then. What do you want to do?” Brittany offers.

Ella shrugs lamely again. “There’s not much I can do. No electronics. Doctors’ orders.”

Brittany hums. “That sucks. You wanna talk?”

Ella shrugs again. “Okay. What do you want to talk about?”

“We could talk about anything. The weather, soccer, whatever really.” Brittany says.

“I don’t wanna talk about the game. The sun hurts my eyes and my head so I can’t even go outside and enjoy it. I’m stuck inside with a headache and a bump on my head. I can’t use my phone or watching tv or go on my computer. I’ve been listening to music all morning and Erin won’t come by me cuz I was a bitch this morning. I don’t blame her. I wouldn’t want to be around me either. You probably don’t want to be around me right now either. I should go. Sorry for bothering you.” Ella says and gets up.

“You can stay. I don’t mind.” Brittany offers.

“No.” Ella says and goes to the door and leaves. She’s really feeling lousy. For herself and because of her head injury.

* * *

 

They are in Ella’s car. Erin is driving Ella to see the team trainer. It’s mostly quiet. The uncomfortable kind too.

“I’m sorry about this morning. I had a headache and was tired and didn’t feel very good. So I’m sorry.” Ella mumbles from the passenger’s seat.

Erin nods. “Okay.” She’s focused on traffic. She hates driving in Houston and makes Ella or someone else do most of the driving. But, she has to do this. Ella can’t drive and she needs to get to her appointment. “I just want to know that the doc has to say.” Erin is almost solely focused on getting to the appointment and seeing what the outcome is.

They go in and Ella sits down on one of the training tables. “Well, Ms. Masar, how are you feeling today?” The team trainer asks.

“I wish everyone would stop asking me that but- my head still hurts a little but it’s subtle. I have a bump on the back of my head and the sun hurts my head.”

“I’m sure they’re just worried.” The trainer says and looks at Erin who is standing opposite her on the other side of Ella. “And your symptoms are typical. How’d last night go? Any nausea, vomiting, increased headache, anything like that?”

“No.” Ella shakes her head.

“Good.” The trainer writes some things down in Ella’s file. “I’ll let you get back to electronics but only lightly. Not too much tv and try to limit the phone and computer to less than an hour a day.”

“For how long?” Ella asks stubbornly.

“Until I say otherwise. I want to see you every day. No exercise. No running. And NO weight room. I know you. You’ll try to sneak some sort of workout if I don’t ban you from everything. So this is me banning you from everything.”

Ella’s shoulders sink. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Do you have any hobbies?” The trainer chuckles. “Do those things.”

Erin laughs. “What else?” She asks the trainer.

“That’s it.” The trainer says with a shrug. “You’re free to go, Ella. I’ll see you tomorrow. No driving til the headaches go away completely. And get a lot of sleep.” The athletic trainer instructs.

“Okay.” Ella hops off the table and heads for the door. Erin follows her with a nod of the head at the trainer as she goes.

Erin drives them back to the house. “What do you want to do tonight?” Erin asks as they travel.

“You wanna do something with me?” Ella asks. “I’m not fun right now. I can’t do anything.”

“Of course I do.” Erin says and glances over at Ella. Ella sits hunched over in the seat. Sunglasses and a hat on, her hand extended off the end of the brim of the cap to block more of the sun. “You might be a big grumpy pants, but as long as you want me around I’ll be there. Okay?”

“Okay.” Ella mumbles. She’s thankful that Erin has accepted her apology.

“You wanna Skype your nieces? They were asking about how you were.” Erin mentions.

“What?” Ella looks over at Erin. This is the first she’s hearing about this.

“I have your phone. You had a few text messages last night and this morning. I texted Seredy back and told her what’s going on and how you were. I told her to relay the message to the rest of the fam. I hope that’s alright.”

Ella smiles. Maybe for the first time all day. Maybe for the first time since she took the hit. “Thank you.” She hadn’t even thought of telling her family. They don’t always watch the games now that she’s playing in Houston. But she knows her sister always keeps tabs on things. Finds the score and the outcome the morning after a game. That sort of thing. “Thank you.” Ella says again after a moment. “That would be perfect. Will you join me?”

“You want me to?” Erin asks.

Ella uses the words that Erin just used a few moments before. “Of course I do.”

* * *

 

Ella is sitting in the living room watching tv. It’s been a long week. Her headache is finally gone and she’s finally close to her usual self again.

Erin walks into the room and looks around. “There you are.”

“Here I am.” Ella grins.

Erin walks over to the couch and sits down next to Ella. “Whatcha doing?”

“Watching tv.” Ella looks over at Erin. “What are you doing?”

Erin shrugs. “Not much. Wanted to see how you were doing.”

Ella reaches for Erin’s hand and takes it in her own. “I’m good. Thank you.”

Erin nods. “I know you’ve been a little bummed out this week.”

“Too put it politely. I’ve been a crab ass.” Ella comments.

“Yeah.” Erin chuckles. “So I was thinking we could do something now that you’re feeling better.”

“What?” Ella asks.

Erin’s unsure if Ella will say yes to her idea. But she thinks that if Ella does agree that what she wants to do will bring them closer together. Erin thinks that it might be good for Ella. “I’ve been thinking about something lately.”

“What?” Ella asks again.

“I was thinking of us doing something that could possibly bring us closer together.” Erin tightens her grip on Ella’s hand. “What would you think of painting or drawing something.”

“Okay. Of?” Ella asks.

“You.” Erin mumbles.

Ella furrows her brow. “Really?”

Erin shrugs. “Yeah. You’re beautiful. Why wouldn’t I?”

“So, like a portrait or something?” Ella asks. She’s interested in what Erin is thinking in that brilliant mind of hers.

Erin hesitates. “Like- intimately.”

Ella looks over at Erin with big, wide eyes. “Like-“ She has to swallow the lump in her throat. “-Naked?”

Erin shrugs. “Maybe not completely. But something close.” Erin worries her bottom lip between her teeth as Ella thinks about it, worried that Ella will back out now that she knows the details.

“I think I have an idea.” Ella says and kisses Erin.

“You?” Erin is a little baffled.

“When are we doing this?” Ella asks ignoring Erin’s question.

“Tonight?” Erin says and Ella nods.

“After dinner.” Ella seals it with a kiss.

* * *

 

Once Ella cleans up from dinner, it was her turn to cook, she heads up to Erin’s room where Erin is setting up her art supplies. Ella enters the room slowly, quietly. She made sure that Max stayed downstairs with Bianca. Ella pulls her shirt over her head and throw it on the floor. She strips all of the clothing from her body and then pulls the sheet off of Erin’s bed.

Erin doesn’t notice too much what Ella is doing. She knows Ella is there but is focused on setting everything up and getting anything and everything that she might need ready to be used if needed.

Ella sits on the chair that Erin has in her room. She sits on the front edge of it with the sheet wrapped around her middle, underneath her arms. “Is this okay?” Ella asks when she’s set in her position.

Erin looks over and sees Ella sitting there. She gets up from her desk and goes over to Ella. She stands in front of Ella and slips her hands around Ella’s waist. Erin kisses Ella soundly. “Perfect. You’re so great. Thank you for doing this for me.” She tells Ella.

Ella grins. “Both of us, yeah.”

Erin’s smile matches Ella’s. “That’s what I was hoping.” She kisses Ella once more.

Ella sits quietly and as still as possible as Erin paints. There’s not a lot of talking. Erin concentrates on her work and the only things she says to Ella are instructions to move this way or that, to change the position a little.

There is, however, an overabundance of eye contact. The looks shared get intense after a few minutes. And when Erin is satisfied that she has a good enough start and that Ella doesn’t have to sit for her anymore she sets her paints down. Erin knows she can finish the painting at a later date.

“Are you done?” Ella asks when Erin moves away from her. “Can I get off this chair? My ass hurts from sitting in the same spot.”

Erin smiles. “Stay where you are, please.” She wants Ella to stay there until she’s done putting her art supplies away.

When Erin is finished cleaning up she goes over to Ella and holds out her hand. Ella puts her hand in Erin’s and Erin helps Ella to her feet. Erin escorts Ella over to the bed, holding eye contact the entire way.

Ella bites her lip as her calves hit the side of the bed and she sits down. Erin reaches for the top of the sheet that’s wrapped around Ella and gives it a tug, pulling it open. Erin puts her hand on Ella’s shoulder and gives her a gentle push so she falls backwards onto the mattress. Erin kneels on the bed on each side of Ella’s hips and leans down to kiss her tenderly. Ella wraps her arms around Erin’s back and pulls her into her body.


	37. Chapter 37

It’s game day verses Washington. Ella isn’t playing but she has a meeting with the team trainer before the game. The day before the trainer told Ella that she was close to being cleared so she’s hoping today is the day.

She has been cleared to drive though. Ella drives them down to the facility a little earlier than usual before the game. Not much though. No one notices when Ella funnels her roommates out the door fifteen minutes earlier than they would usually leave.

The goalkeepers go to the locker room and get ready for the game right away. Brittany decides to accompany Ella to the training room.

“Hey, Doc.” Ella hops up onto a table. “Let’s get this daily fun time over with.”

“Well, let’s see. Any symptoms at all. And don’t lie to me.”

“Nope. No symptoms. Second day in a row.” Ella says.

“Good.” The trainer makes a note of that. “Then I don’t see why you can’t start practicing again. Go slow though. And if any symptoms come back stop what you are doing and come see me immediately.”

“Yes, boss.” Ella jokes. “Let’s go, Britt.” Ella hops off the table.

“Where are we going?” Brittany asks.

“To tell the team the good news.” Ella says and walks out the door, leaving a laughing Brittany and trainer behind.

Ella bursts into the locker room with a huge smile on her face. “I have good news.” She shouts at her teammates.

“You got admitted to clown college.” Bianca says and everyone laughs.

“Haha, B. You’re very funny. No. Better than that. I’ve been cleared to play. So, you will see me out there shooting balls at you at our next practice.” She throws that last part at Bianca.

Bianca nods. “Can’t wait to block all your shots.” She throws a little trash back at Ella.

“Yeah, right. I always get at least one past you keepers.” Ella adds Erin to this little trash talk conversation.

“I don’t want to hear it Masar.” Erin says. “Can we just focus on the game tonight?” Erin asks her as the captain. She gives Ella a look. A look that tells Ella to shut up and go find something else to do while the team gets ready to go out and warm up.

Ella nods and leaves the locker room. She runs into Brittany in the hall and hooks her arm under Brittany’s arm. “Let’s go see what’s going on around the stadium.” Ella tells her.

Brittany allows Ella to lead her around the stadium. They talk to staff and a few fans but mostly just walk around for a little while. That is until the teams are out of the field for warm ups. Ella tells Brittany that she’s going to go back to the locker room and Brittany goes down to the field.

* * *

 

Ella posts a photo of herself standing on the sidelines in her training top and leggings from the game the night before. It’s rough for her to not be out on the field playing with her team but Ella is happy that she has finally been cleared after almost a whole week. Even though she didn’t get to play against Washington she was going to be on the sideline cheering her team on. And that’s where she was. One of the area photographers snapped that great pic of her standing there and Ella loved it and posted it.

A few hours later, Ella notices that Erin commented on the photo. “What a brat.” Ella shakes her head as she read the words: Nice tights.

* * *

 

Erin’s phone starts ringing and she looks at the screen to see who it is before she answers it. It’s her mother calling. “Hi, mom.”

“Hello, dear. How are you?” Erin’s mom asks.

“I’m good.” Erin shrugs even though her mom can’t see her.

“How was your game last night?” Cheryl asks.

“Alright. A draw.” Erin says.

“Well, that’s not a loss. So, that’s good.” Her mom says.

“So, what’s up mom?” Erin asks. She doesn’t really want to talk about the game.

“Oh, I just wanted to call you and speak with you. Your dad and I are coming to Houston in a couple of weeks for a visit.” Erin’s mother informs her.

“You are?” Erin asks. This is the first she’s heard of this. Her mom hasn’t mentioned it in any of the conversations they’ve had lately. “When did you decide this?”

“Just yesterday. I thought it would be nice to come visit you. See where you work. See where you live. I expect you to show us around the city when we are there.” Cheryl tells her middle daughter.

“Oh?” Erin questions.

“Yes. Don’t sound so shocked Erin. I know you have practice and team stuff. We will not get in the way of that. But in the evening and on your days off we went to spend time with you. We ARE coming to visit you after all. Can you get us tickets to the game?”

“When, mom? You didn’t tell me what days you were coming.” Erin asks.

“Oh, I’m sorry. We are coming on August 9th. So, that game. Your last home game, I believe. We will be staying a few days afterwards. So, plan accordingly.”

“Okay.” Erin starts thinking of all the little details that would go along with her parents visiting. “I’ll get tickets.” Erin says. She even writes a little note for herself on the open notebook that’s on her desk. Not that Erin would forget that.

Erin talks with her mom for a few more minutes. They catch up on things in the family and Erin is ready to let her mother go. “Mom, I should probably go. It’s my turn to cook tonight.”

“Alright, dear. I won’t keep you from feeding your roommates but one more thing before I go.”

“What’s that?” Erin asks.

“I was none too pleased when I heard that Cara was meeting your girlfriend before I was. But, I know that was probably more of an opportunity for you to test the waters, so to speak, before your father and I meet her.”

“Well, yeah.” Erin says. Her mother knows her well.

“Which is fine. But, part of the reason we are coming is to spend some time with you and your girlfriend.” Cheryl says through the phone.

Erin’s heartrate increase a little. She actually gets nervous about the idea. She knew that was going to happen with her parents coming but Erin hadn’t thought too much about it yet. But with her mother bringing it up makes her nervous.

“Erin?” Her mom asks. “Are you still there?”

“Yeah.” Erin mumbles.

“Okay, well, we’ll talk more in the coming weeks. I can’t wait to see you and can’t wait to be in Houston for a few days and I especially can’t wait to finally meet your girlfriend. I’ve heard all these things and I just can’t wait.”

“Okay, mom.” Erin rolls her eyes. She still remembers the day her mom asked about Ella. Like asked and asked. Her mom asked a ton of questions. “Talk to you later. Love you.” Erin hangs up the phone. Erin leaves her room, and goes to the hall, to Ella’s room.

Ella looks up and over at the door when it opens and she sees Erin enter. “I saw your comment.”

“What?”

“On my post.” Ella smiles.

“Oh. Yeah.” Erin mumbles and looks down at the floor. She wasn’t even thinking about that. Her mind is wrapped around the conversations she just had with her mom. Her palms her sweating and her heart is racing.

“What’s wrong?” Ella asks as she notices the odd behavior as Erin stands at the door. She sets her computer aside and folds her hands in her lap.

“My parents are coming.” Erin’s freaking out a little.

“To Houston?” Ella asks and Erin nods. “Okay, I can’t wait to meet them. You talk so highly of them. I’m sure they are wonderful people. But why are you acting all weird?”

“I’m not weird.” Erin says.

Ella laughs. “When are they coming? How long are they staying?” Ella carries on.

“You don’t understand.” Erin huffs out in frustration. “My parents are coming.”

“Yeah.”

“They want to meet you and do thing with us and stuff.” Erin supplies.

“Yeah, okay.” Ella shrugs. “That sounds like fun. Why are you freaking out about this?” She can see that Erin is having a mini meltdown about this.

“Because it’s my parents and because I didn’t do this right and because Cara met you before they did.”

“Well, they don’t live in Vancouver.” Ella says as if that explains everything. And in a way, it does. But not to Erin. To Erin she feels like her parents should have met Ella first.

Erin nods a little as she thinks. As the thought of her parents coming all the way to Houston sinks in. “My dad is probably going to like ask you a bunch of questions and stuff. Like interrogation questions.”

Ella chuckles. “Okay.”

“What?” Erin wasn’t expecting that from Ella.

“Okay. Let him.” Ella grins over at Erin. “I would expect that from my dad or any dad that has daughters.” Ella pats the spot on the bed right next to her. “Come here.” She wants Erin closer, not standing all the way over by the bedroom door. Erin walks over to the bed slowly and sits down on the edge, at Ella’s hip. “It’ll be fine. I can’t wait to meet Doug and Cheryl.” Erin smiles when Ella uses her parents’ names. “I’m not worried about it. And you shouldn’t be either. When are they coming again?” Ella asks.

Erin licks her lips. “They’re coming for the game on the ninth. I don’t know if they are coming that day or the day before. My mom said she wants me to show her around the area.”

“What are we going to do?” Ella asks.

Erin shrugs. She doesn’t have any clue.

“We could go downtown or to the zoo or something. Maybe even outside Houston. Like to the ocean.” Ella makes a few suggestions.

“You mean the Gulf of Mexico.” Erin corrects her.

“Yeah, that. That would be fun.” Ella reaches for Erin’s hand, lacing their fingers together. It gets Erin to look over at Ella. “Are your parent’s outdoorsy types or would they prefer to stay inside the city? Where are they staying? Are they staying here?” Ella asks.

“God no.” Erin doesn’t hesitate with an answer. “I don’t need that. They can come and see the house but I don’t want them sleeping over here.”

“May I ask why?” Ella says.

Erin just shrugs. She doesn’t have a solid reason as to why she doesn’t want her parents staying in the house that she lives.

“Cuz then you and I can’t sleep together.” Ella guesses and squeezes Erin hand. “Would that be weird?”

Erin nods she knows she wouldn’t be able to handle that. Ella chuckles. “It’ll be fine, hun. Don’t worry about it. It will all work out. You’ll see. I’ll charm the pants off of them.” Ella smiles.

That makes Erin laughs. She falls backwards onto Ella’s legs and lets out a long sigh. “I love you, but please, let’s keep their pants on.”

* * *

 

Ella snaps a photo of the Chicago skyline as the plane flies into the Chicago area. She already knows that as soon as they are on the ground that she’s going to post the photo with the simple caption: Home.

“Feel good to be back in Chicago?” Kaylyn asks from the seat next to Ella.

Ella nods. “Yeah. It really does.” Ella smiles over at Kaylyn.

“I’ve only been a few times but from what I’ve experienced Chicago seems like a good city.” Kaylyn comments. “You gonna see some family while you’re here?” She asks knowing that Ella has family in the area.

“Yeah. We’re having dinner with my sister’s family tonight.” Ella says and looks out the tiny airplane window.

“We?”

Ella smiles shyly. “Erin and I.”

“Ahhh.” Kaylyn smiles coyly. “Ever done that before?”

“No.” Ella looks back to Kaylyn.

“Are you nervous about it? That it goes well?” Kaylyn asks.

“Oddly, no.” Ella smiles. “I, actually, can’t wait. Erin sometimes joins me when I Skype with my nieces so that will be fine. The girls will be excited to see both of us. And, Erin doesn’t know this, but I know that Erin got my sister’s phone number when I had my concussion and they’ve been texting a little bit back and forth. My sister told me. They all met last year when we were playing here but it was only briefly. This will be more personal, more involved. I’m really looking forward to it.”

“That’s cool. Well, have a good time tonight. I guess that means I get the room to myself.” Kaylyn grins.

“I’ll be back for bed. Don’t go throwing any parties or anything.” Ella teases.

“Who me?” Kaylyn chuckles and Ella laughs along lightly.

* * *

 

The ride over to the house is quiet. When the cab pulls up, Ella sees her nieces playing in the front yard, her brother-in-law Rob sitting on the steps watching them. A smile blooms on her face as they see the cab pull up outside their house. “They’re waiting for us.” Ella whispers.

She gets out of the cab as it comes to a halt. Erin pays the cab driver before following Ella out. Ella is already kneeling on the ground with her arms out wide as her nieces run at her when Erin gets out of the cab.

“Did you girls miss me?” Ella asks. She gets twin yes’s in response. “I missed you guys too.” Ella hugs the two girls tightly before letting them go. Ella leans back on her heels and looks over her shoulder at Erin. She looks back to her nieces and they are looking at Erin.

“Is that Erin?” Cambria asks.

“Yes.” Ella says.

“Hi, girls.” Erin waves at them.

“Is she having dinner with us?” Cambria asks.

“Is it okay if she does?” Ella asks. Both girls nod. “Okay, good.” Ella says and stands up. She looks over to Rob and he is watching them from his spot. She nods in his direction. “Is your mom in the house?” Ella asks. She gets nods in response again. “Okay, I-“ Ella stops mid-sentence when Cambria moves from her spot.

The little girl passes Ella and goes over to Erin. She reaches for Erin’s hand and takes it. “Let’s go play.” The girl tells Erin and pulls her towards the backyard.

The smile on Ella’s face couldn’t be any bigger as her nieces both pull Erin into the backyard to play with them. She would feel a little offended except that they have accepted Erin into their lives, into their family, as simply as that. They might be young yet and they might be shy. The girls might not know the nature of her and Erin’s relationship but right now that doesn’t matter. What matters is that they trust Erin and that they have opened themselves up to her. It melts Ella’s heart as she stands there and watches them until the three disappear around the house.

“You gonna stand there all day?” Rob asks, standing up from sitting on the front steps.

“No.” Ella shakes her head, shakes her thoughts away. “How you been?” Ella moves towards him, moves towards a giant bear hug.

“Good, kid. Good.” Rob hugs Ella tightly. “You seem good. How’s the head?” Rob pulls away and takes a step back.

“All better. Took a while, but I should be playing tomorrow. So, that’s good.” Ella tells him.

“And everything else?” Rob asks, thumbing over his shoulder.

Ella chews on her bottom lip. She knows Rob is talking about Erin. “Great. Better than I could have ever imagined.” She tells him honestly.

“That’s great, kid.” Rob wraps his arm around Ella and pulls her into the house. “Let’s go find your sister.”

* * *

 

It’s after a very good dinner. And it’s after Ella and Erin put the girls to bed. The adults are sitting around the living room. Each with a glass of wine in hand.

“So Ella, tell us what your plans are for the offseason. The season, has what, a month or so left? Should I start getting the spare bedroom ready for you?” Seredy asks.

Ella looks to her right, to Erin. “Don’t look at me.” Erin says and makes a silly face.

“Do you have offseason training set up yet?” Rob asks.

Ella shakes her head. “No, not yet.” She looks down at her lap trying to decide the best way to give her sister this news.

“Are you going to play in Europe?” Seredy asks.

“No.” Ella looks across the room at her sister. “And you don’t have to worry about me staying here. It’s been very generous of you, both of you, to house me for the last few years while I tried to get my life together.”

“What?” Seredy asks while confusion. “Life together? Are you going to be staying with mom then? Or Tyson?”

“Nope.” Ella shakes her head. She looks to her right again. To Erin sitting next to her. She takes Erin’s hand and pulls it into her lap.

Seredy sees the actions and it all makes sense to her. She let’s Ella continue though, without further interruption.

“We can come visit for a few days when the season is over.” Ella says.

“We?” Erin asks and makes a silly confused face.

Ella squeezes her hand. “You don’t have to.” Ella tells her with a little worry that Erin might not want to come with her to visit her family.

Erin smiles. “No. I just didn’t know-“ Ella hasn’t mentioned anything to Erin about visiting her family when the season is over. This is the first Erin is hearing of it. “We’ll visit as soon as the season is over.” She confirms.

“But yeah, I won’t be staying here. Or with mom. Or Tyson. I’ll be training and spending the offseason in Vancouver.” Ella tells her sister and brother-in-law.

“Well, well, well.” Rob grins and wiggle his eyebrows.

“What?” Erin asks.

“Ella’s never lived with someone exclusively. She never lived with her ex.” Seredy supplies.

Ella ducks her heard, not sure if she should say something or not. She opts for not.

“Inter-esting.” Erin says and glances at Ella. “How come you never told me that?” Erin asks.

Ella shrugs. “I don’t know. Didn’t think it was too important.”

“Someone’s all grown up now.” Rob teases.

Ella looks over at him and gives him a glare. “I am grown up.” Ella says.

“Yes, that’s what I’m saying. It took you a while.” He grins wickedly. “Moving in with someone and starting a new chapter in your life. All grown up.”

Ella rolls her eyes. “So, yeah. I’m sure I’ll be around a few times during the offseason but just to visit.”

Seredy stands up and goes over to Ella. “I’m happy for you Ella.” She tells her sister and holds her arms open for a huge.

Ella stands up and hugs her sister. “Thanks, sis.”

“Does mom know yet?” Seredy asks.

“No. This is a fairly recent decision. I haven’t talked to her since. I’ll tell her the next time I talk to her.” Ella says.

Seredy nods at Erin. “You too. Come here.” Erin stands up and joins their hug. “Rob.” Seredy calls out. Rob comes over and wraps his arms around the three women standing in his living room. He gives them a good squeeze before he says his going to bed. That’s when Ella says that she and Erin should get going and that curfew is at 11.

* * *

 

Ella’s sister and her family and Tyson come to the game on Saturday. Ella doesn’t start the game but does get subbed in late in the game. The game ends in a 0-0 draw. Not the best result but not a loss.

* * *

 

Ella gets a text from Carm as soon as the plane with the Seattle team on it lands in Houston. They’ve been texting back and forth constantly over the last 24 hours about getting together the night before the Houston v. Seattle game.

**We should do a show.** The text from Carm reads. Ella’s surprised she didn’t think of it sooner. She thinks it’s a brilliant idea.

She sends a message back to Carm. **You and one of your teammates and me and one of mine.** Ella sends the text and goes to find Erin downstairs.

“Erin.” She calls out through the house.

“In here.”

Ella finds Erin in the kitchen. Her phone chimes as she enters the kitchen. **What about Erin?** Carm asks.

“What’s up, babe?” Erin asks from the stove. She watches Ella look at her phone. She’s busy making lunch before they have afternoon meetings and a last, late day, practice before tomorrow’s game.

“Carm and I are going to do a show.” Ella tells her.

“You know I can’t do it, right?” Erin says.

“Yeah, I know.” Ella frowns. She knows it would be a lot more fun if Erin could be there but she’s got a meeting for PDL this evening.

“Well, tell her I say hi and that I will see her tomorrow.” Erin glances at Ella. “Wait. Where are you doing this?”

Ella shrugs. She doesn’t have it all planned out yet. “Here.” Erin nods knowing what Ella means by that. That if Carm comes over then there’s a good chance that Erin will see her either before or after her videoconference meeting.

“You ready to eat?” Erin asks. Ella nods. “Go find our roommates then.” Erin points at the kitchen door with her spatula.

Ella texts Carm back. **Erin’s busy tonight.**

* * *

 

Ella asked Kaylyn at practice if she would do a show with her. She mentioned that Carm was going to be on the show too. Kaylyn didn’t need any more convincing.

Kaylyn shows up to the house first. Brittany answers the door and tells her that Ella is in her room and to go up. “It’s the last door on the right.”

“Okay. Thanks, Britt.”

Kaylyn heads upstairs and a few minutes later Brittany is answering the door again. This time it’s Carm standing on the other side. Behind Carm is Megan Rapinoe. “Hello, ladies. Ella is up in her room. Last door on the right.” Brittany directs them to where they need to go.

“Thanks. Brittany right?” Carm says. Brittany nods. “Nice to meet you?” Carm extends her hand to shake Brittany’s hand. Megan follows Carm’s lead and does everything Carm does, following her up to Ella’s room. Carm knocks on the door and then pushes it open. “There’s the peasant.” Carm says and enters Ella’s room.

Ella jumps up from the bed and gives Carm a big hug. “Pinoe.” She says as she hugs Carm. “Oh, wow.”

Megan smirks. “Yeah, long time no see.” She holds out her arms for a hug after Ella is finished hugging Carm. “And who would’ve thought you’d be the one to snatch up an awesome chick before I did.” Megan jokes. They all laughs.

“I see Carm told you.” Ella says, side eyeing Carm.

Carm holds her hands in the air in innocence. “I didn’t know we weren’t telling people.”

“You make it sound like she’s pregnant.” Kaylyn says.

“Are you?” Carm asks and everyone laughs. “I mean, that would explain why you haven’t been playing recently.”

Ella rolls her eyes. “Right. Anyway…”

“She had to make me coming with her worth it for me.” Megan jokes.

“So, a years old friendship wasn’t enough?” Ella asks.

“Nah.” Megan shakes her head. “So, what are we doing here?” Megan asks and goes over to the bed and sits down next to Kaylyn. “I see you brought a Canadian of your own. Canada versus the US or Seattle versus Houston?” Megan asks.

“Erin and I already did Canada versus US and that didn’t go so well for me. So no. No competitions. Nothing like that.” Ella shakes her head.

“Ugh, you’re no fun, Masar.” Carm complains. “What are we going to do then?”

“I thought you guys could interview Carm and I.” Ella says.

“This should be good.” Megan rubs her hands together in a sinister manner.

“I have the camera set up downstairs in front of the couch.” Ella says to the group.

“Then what are we doing up here?” Carm asks in exasperation. “Why didn’t you just meet us downstairs.”

“Cuz I was doing something up here.” Ella says and exits the room. “Let’s go.”

* * *

 

Randy talked to Ella before the game and told her that he wasn’t going to start her today. “I want to bring you back slowly from your concussion. You played a little in the last game and today, if things go well, I’ll put you in in the second half. More time than the last game.”

“Okay.” Ella nods. She understands. Plus, they’ve got other forwards that can play. She’s not too concerned about playing time. This isn’t like last season at the end of the year when Ella wasn’t playing much. She honestly believes Randy when he says he’ll get her back in there. She’s not worried about her spot or position on the team.

The thing is, the game doesn’t go well. Houston gets down and it only gets worse. Randy doesn’t use Ella as a sub. He subs in more defense and not a forward. Ella understands that too but she was really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.

Houston ends up losing to Seattle 1-4. It’s a bad loss. The whole team is in a bad mood after the game. Ella drives the foursome back to the house in bad mood silence.

Erin is probably in the worst mood. She never seems to play well against Seattle. Home or away. Erin is in her head the rest of the night about the game and second guessing some of the decisions she made.

Ella takes Max out and they return and get into bed with Erin. Max licks at Erin’s face, knowing that she’s in a bad mood. Ella laughs as Erin tries to duck away from Max’s tongue but fails epically. Erin wraps her hands around Max’s midsection and sets him on the floor.

“Oh, poor Max. Mommy kicked you off the bed.” Ella sympathizes with a pouting Maxwell.

“You know I don’t want him sleeping on the bed.” Erin says grumpily.

“I was just trying to cheer you up.” Ella says and gets under the sheet and lays on her side next to Erin.

“I don’t need cheering up.” Erin says glumly.

“If you say so.” Ella grins. “I know you had a bad game. But, just remember, tomorrow is a new day.” Ella reminds Erin.

Erin nods. She knows that. And tomorrow she will be in a better mood. She will be past it for the most part. Erin knows Ella is right.

Ella picks up her book and starts reading. It will mostly likely be over an hour before Ella will be able to get to sleep so she occupies her time with a little fiction. With Erin in a crabby mood and in no mood to talk, Ella settles into her book for a while.

Erin thinks more about the game. She thinks and thinks. It does no good, of course, Eventually Erin gives up. She turns to Ella and lays her head on Ella’s shoulder and basks in the comfort that is Ella.

* * *

 

Ella gets up the next day and goes to the gym. She’s determined to get a good solid workout in before lunch. Yes, it’s their day off. A recovery day. But, Ella didn’t play at all the night before. She doesn’t need to recover. She plans her weight lifting session and gets to work. Ella wants to get the bad taste of the horrible loss to Seattle out of her mouth. Ella will do that by moving on and preparing for the next match. She wants to get a jump start on the week. A jump start on the next game. Everyone else is resting and she is in the weight room.

Ella is nearly done with her weight session, with thoughts of a run after she’s done lifting. She lifts the bar up from the floor to her hips, and prepares to bring it back to the floor when she feels a pull in her lower abdomen. Ella puts the bar, with its weights on each end, back on the floor. She puts her hand to the spot she felt the pull and rubs at it a little. Ella thinks she probably just strained a muscle.

She continues on her workout with a little discomfort. Ella finishes her weight session then goes for a two-mile run before finishing her workout with stretches and then returning to the house for lunch.

* * *

 

The next day after practice Ella stops by the training room to see the team trainer.

“Hey, Doc. What’s up?” Ella says casually.

“Ella?” The trainer questions. She’s suspicious of Ella just showing up in her training room. Players don’t just show up or come visit her. “Problems with the noggin?” She says in reference to Ella’s recent concussion.

Ella shakes her head. “All good there.” Ella pulls her training top over her head and sets it aside. “I think I pulled a muscle. It’s sore right here.” Ella points to the spot on her lower abdomen where the soreness resides.

The trainer feels at the spot that Ella pointed out. “Here?”

“Yeah.”

“Does it hurt when I press on it?” The trainer asks.

“Not anymore than it does otherwise.”

“Hmm.” The trainer hums. “Well, we’ll have to keep an eye on it. You don’t have any other issues, do you?”

“No.” Ella shakes her head. “That’s it. I just wanted to let you know.”

“When did you do this? How long have you had discomfort?” The trainer asks.

“Yesterday. I felt the pull when I was lifting weights. It was a little sore before that but nothing that I couldn’t handle or nothing that bothered me enough to take seriously.” Ella tells the trainer.

“Well, if it isn’t too painful and you still want to play, I can tape it up before practice and games. But, I suggest you take it easy. Nothing crazy at practice. Light practices. That sort of thing.”

“Okay.” Ella grabs her shirt and puts it back on. “Thanks, Doc.” Ella exits the room as the team trainer makes some notes about Ella’s latest ‘injury’. She’ll have to report it to Randy and keep an eye on Ella and her progress in the coming days to week.

 

 


	38. Chapter 38

After Ella sees the team trainer she goes back to the locker room to change and find Erin so they can go home. She’s looking for a nice, relaxing night at home before their road trip to Portland and then Seattle. It’s going to be a long week away from Houston.

“What do you want to do tonight?” Erin asks in the car, on the way back to the house.

Ella shrugs. “I don’t know. Watch a movie, maybe. I just want to relax.”

“Okay.” Erin nods.

After dinner, Ella is in her room packing for the road trip tomorrow when Erin comes in. Ella has her bag on the bed and is leaning over it when Erin comes up behind her and wraps her arms around Ella from behind. “What are you doing?” Ella asks.

Erin kisses Ella shoulder. “I was thinking with the big road trip coming up that-“ Erin runs her palms up Ella’s sides. “-we should spend a little alone time together before we go.” She rocks into Ella from behind. “If you know what I mean.” Erin whispers the last part, resting her hands on Ella’s hips and kissing the side of Ella’s neck.

Ella closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. “I know what you mean.” Ella whispers. “But-“ She sighs.

Erin loosens her grip on Ella’s waist. “But?”

Ella turns around to face Erin. “Erin, I have to pack.” She tells Erin. It’s an excuse and a poor one at that. And Erin knows it.

“Looks to me like you’re almost done.” Erin says. “Here, I’ll help. What else do you need? We can both do it and get done faster.” Erin tells Ella.

“Erin, I- I don’t think- I just- I should really focus on getting everything ready myself.” Ella tells her. She doesn’t want to tell Erin about her muscle injury but that’s the real reason. She doesn’t want to have Erin worrying. It’s not a big deal and in a few days she’ll be all better and Erin won’t have to know it was a problem to begin with. If Ella can just get through tonight, then they will be on the road for the next six days.

Erin doesn’t take the rejection lightly. “Oh.” Erin pouts. “Well, I’m gonna take Max for a walk then.” She mumbles and leaves Ella alone.

Erin goes to find Max and they go for a long walk. Erin walks with him down to the local park and she sits on the swings and watches the children playing on the playground. She bummed out about Ella but kids always bring a happy smile to her face. A few even ask to pet Max and she lets them. Max loves the attention.

When Erin returns to the house it’s getting dark. She throws a few things into her bag for the road trip and then climbs into bed for the night. She still feels hurt that Ella didn’t want to be with her earlier, and apparently, doesn’t want to right now. Erin didn’t see Ella anywhere in the house and knows that she’s still in her room.

It’s dark and late and quite in the house and everyone is in bed. Ella’s been lying in bed for over an hour trying to get to sleep. She finally gives in and wonders why she’s being like this, why she has to try so hard to get to sleep. Deep down she knows why. Ella gets up and goes out into hall, goes down the hall, passing the bathroom and entering the next door on the left. It’s late and Ella thinks Erin’s probably already asleep so she crosses the room as quietly as possible. Max perks up from his bed and looks Ella over as she passes him by.

Ella peels the sheet back and crawls underneath.

“Couldn’t sleep either?” Erin says in a low voice.

Ella nearly jumps out of bed. “You scared me. I thought you’d be asleep already.”

“It’s not so easy when you’re not around.” Erin rolls over to face Ella.

“I’m sorry.” Ella frowns.

“Don’t be sorry. Tell me what’s going on.” Erin knows there’s a reason. She knows that there’s more to it than just Ella having to pack for the road trip.

Ella sighs and closes her eyes. “I think I pulled a muscle yesterday.”

Erin wrinkles up her face. “Really?” She wasn’t expecting that.

“Yeah. I went and saw the Doc today. I’m supposed to take it easy, rest, don’t do anything- anything too strenuous.” Ella finally fesses up to what’s been going on. “I didn’t want to have to tell you.”

Erin chuckles. “Why?”

“Why what?” Ella asks.

“Why didn’t you want to tell me?” Erin asks and rubs her palm up and down Ella’s right arm.

“Cuz you worry about me. I know you do. And I didn’t want to worry you.” Ella shrugs. “I’m fine. It’s just a strained or pulled muscle. The Doc said she’ll even let me play, just tape me up, if I take it easy the rest of the time.”

“I know you’re a tough cookie but Ella I don’t think there’s benefit of keeping things like this from me. And vice versa.”

“I know that. And I’m sorry about that. But it’s just the way I operate. It’s not a big deal and I didn’t want to turn it into one. We’ve got a long road trip starting tomorrow and when we get back your parents are coming.”

“Don’t remind me.” Erin mumbles.

“It’ll be fine. I keep telling you that. I don’t know why you don’t believe me.” Ella smiles. “You’re so paranoid about something going wrong when your parents come that you’re going to make something go wrong. Think positive thoughts, dear. The power of positivity.” Ella presses her lips to Erin’s forehead. “And don’t worry about me. If something is wrong, I’ll let you know. Okay?”

Erin nods. “I am bummed though.”

“About?” Ella asks.

“Before. Ya know.” Erin wiggles her eyebrows at Ella.

Ella laughs. “You horndog.” She rolls into Erin’s body, laying half on top of her. “Do you wanna make out with me for a little bit.” Erin grins. “But that’s it. Doctors’ orders.” Erin nods again.

* * *

 

Ella was on the sub list against Portland but didn’t play. Once Randy found out about the injury he didn’t want to risk further injury and decided not to put Ella in. Houston lost to Portland in the end by a score of 1-0.

The team moved on to Seattle the next day, had a practice, and a team meeting. But the rest of the day was spent sightseeing and resting up for the next game.

The day before the game in Seattle they have practice and then have time off in the afternoon. Ella gets an idea and goes to Erin’s hotel room to try and convince her to go.

Ella knocks on the door. Steph opens the door and as soon as she spots Ella yells backwards into the room. “Ella’s here.” Steph leaves Ella at the door and returns to making her own plans for the afternoon.

Ella walks into the room and goes over to Erin who is sitting on the bed. “Do you have plans for the afternoon?” Ella asks and wraps her hand around Erin’s ankle.

Erin looks up from her computer. “No. What are you thinking?”

Ella looks over at Steph. “Just you and me.”

Steph looks up from her phone and over at Ella and catches her eye. “Go ahead. I wanna here what you have in mind for your day date.” Steph grins cheesily.

“Whatever, go back to texting your girlfriend.” Ella throws back.

“Ha.” Steph wiggles her phone in the air. “You’re right though.”

Erin chuckles. “Anyway?”

“So I was thinking we could go down to the waterfront.” Ella says.

“Okay. Can I just finish this email first?” Erin asks and Ella nods. “Then we can go.”

* * *

 

“Can we go out on the water?” Ella asks as she sees a water sports shop as they walk along the waterfront.

“And how do you suppose we do that?” Erin grins, not seeing the shop.

Ella points ahead of them, down about three shops in front of them that has a sign that reads: Rentals: Kayak, canoe, paddleboards. “That’s how.”

“Okay, smarty pants.” Erin stops their walk and turns to Ella. “How are we going to do that? You’re injured.”

“Well.” Ella shrugs. “I might not be able to do much but you are more than capable. We could kayak around the harbor and you could show off your upper body strength for me.” Ella smirks.

“In-credible.” Erin rolls her eyes. “Let’s go.” Erin turns and starts walking to the rental place. She’s more than happy to paddle Ella around if she has to. Erin thinks it’s a cool idea and it will be a nice casual experience for the two of them. Even if she has to do all the work.

Ella runs ahead of Erin and starts talking to the guy that works at the rental place about renting a kayak before Erin even gets to the shop.

They get in the water and in the kayak. Ella in the front and Erin in the rear. Erin starts paddling them around and Ella tells her where to go. Erin follow the instructions for a little while before she goes off course.

“Where are you going?” Ella asks. “I said right.”

“I don’t wanna go that way. I want to go over here.” Erin points to the left with her paddle. Ella picks up her paddle and sticks one end in the water. “Don’t even think about it. You’re injured.” Erin warns her. “If you start paddling, I’ll take that paddle and throw it in the water.”

Ella looks over her shoulder at Erin. “Then we’d have to pay for it.”

“I’d have to pay for it. But yes. And I would.” Erin threatens.

“Fine.” Ella sets the paddle back across her lap. She reaches down and gets her phone out of her pocket. “Go wherever you want. I’m gonna take pictures.” Ella starts snapping a few.

“Don’t drop that in the water.” Erin says about Ella’s phone.

“Don’t rock the boat and I won’t.” Ella says back.

Erin smiles, shaking her head and paddles on. Ella was right about one thing. A lot of upper body muscles are used. Nothing Erin can’t handle, but she finds it’s a good workout. “It’s beautiful.” Erin comments as they paddle around. Ella nods and mumbles a ‘yeah’. Erin doesn’t mind doing the paddling if the view is this great. “You gonna put one of those photos online?” She knows Ella all too well.

Ella nods again. “Yep. You want one with you in it?” Ella tries to turn around but feels that same pull in her lower abdomen area. She winces and Erin sees it.

“No. I’m good. Just don’t drop your phone in the water.” Erin wants Ella to turn around and not risk her phone or her injury on a photo op.

Ella does post a photo later after they get back to the hotel with the caption: Not a bad view… Especially when you didn’t have to do any of the work. Followed by a fist emoji and tagging Erin.

* * *

 

Erin doesn’t play against Seattle. Bianca gets the start and plays the whole game. That might be a good thing for Erin because she never has a good game against Seattle but it’s not good in the end. They lose the game 4-1 again.

Erin spends most of the game yelling and rooting for her team from the bench. After halftime, she moves down to the far end of the bench by where Ella is talking to Brittany, sitting in the folding chair that is next to the cooler that Ella has been sitting on the entire game. It’s strange for her to not be out on the field playing for her club team. She knows though that Bianca needs some opportunities too. She thinks B is good. Good enough to have a starting spot on a team even, so Erin is more than happy to just sit and cheer on her teammates.

* * *

 

August 8th proves to be a busy day. For the team that includes morning practice, followed by lunch and then a light afternoon run-through for the game the next day. For Erin that also involves her parents’ arrival in the afternoon and dinner with them and Ella that evening.

Or that’s how it was supposed to go.

They are about fifteen minutes into practice when Ella goes up for a header. She wins the ball but ends up on the ground in pain. Her teammates surround her. The trainer and coaches come out.

“What is it?” Someone asks.

“I’m fine.” Ella says and tries to get up. She’s in pain and grabbing at her stomach.

“Stay down.” The trainer tells her. She makes Ella lay on her back and examines her abdomen area. “Does this hurt?” Ella nods and closes her eyes at the pain. “And what about this?” Ella winces. “Okay, no more for you today.”

“But-“ Ella opens her eyes and Erin is standing above her giving her a look that says ‘you better listen to what the trainer say or else’. Ella holds her arms in the air. Erin grabs one and the trainer grabs the other and they pull Ella to her feet.

“Come with me, Masar.” The trainer tells Ella and Ella follows her back into the facility. “I’d tell you to sit down so I can examine you more but I think we should go to see a doctor. I’m starting to think that this is more than a muscle pull or strain. It hasn’t gotten any better in a week and a half.”

“What do you think it is?” Ella asks.

The trainer frowns. “A hernia.” Ella comes back with a matching frown. “Let’s go. I’ll drive you. We should be back before they are done for the day.”

* * *

 

The doctor that the team uses at the hospital agrees with the team trainer that Ella probably has a hernia. They go over her options and what it means for playing soccer.

The team trainer drives Ella back to the practice facility to rejoin the rest of the team in their afternoon activities. The go back out to the field and the trainer talks with Randy when he calls for a water break. Ella’s teammates surround her.

“So, where ya been Masar?” Steph asks.

“The hospital.” Ella says glumly. She’s not in the best of mood now that she knows she has to have surgery.

“And?” Becky asks.

“Hernia.” Ella pats at the spot by her hip. “I’ll have to have surgery.”

It’s not the news that Erin wanted to hear. She walks away from the group and goes to get a cool towel. Her mind whirls with thoughts and possibilities. She’s already got enough to think about with her parents coming today and now this too.

“So you can’t play tomorrow?” Kaelia asks.

“I want to play. I don’t know if Randy will let me. The doctor said that I could play if I could handle the pain. He said I shouldn’t do much more damage than is already done. And if I do, they’ll just have to repair more.” Ella shrugs. She doesn’t see it as a reason to not play. “I’ll have to have surgery next week though.”

Randy calls everyone back together after the break. He explains what he wants of them in the game the next day. He addresses Ella’s injury too. He says he’ll let Ella start the game and see how far she can go but tells the team it will be the last time she plays this season. Then he dismisses them for the day.

* * *

 

Ella follows Erin into her room when they get home. They need to talk about this. Erin sits on the bed as Ella shuts the door.

“I knew something bad would happen.” Erin says and holds her head in her hands. “What are you going to do?” Erin asks.

Ella has a tiny a smile on her face as she goes over to the bed and sits down next to Erin. Max sits at their feet and watches them, taking in their behaviors and moods. “Well, I’m gonna play tomorrow. Like Randy said. But right now, I’m going to talk to you about this and what needs to happen after that. I know this is bad timing with your mom and dad being here. And I know we were supposed to all go out to dinner tonight but do you think it’s okay if I sit this one out. I’ll see them tomorrow. I’m just not up for being cheery and meeting with your parents.” Ella starts with.

“Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t want to go. That’s okay, I’ll just go by myself.” Erin looks over at Ella with a frown. “You have to have surgery.” She says plainly.

“Yes.” Ella nods. “I want to talk to you about when. I have to call the hospital tomorrow to schedule it but I wanted to talk to you first. They wanted me to schedule it when I was there today.”

“Why didn’t you?” Erin asks in confusion.

Ella chuckles. “Are you not listening?” Ella takes Erin’s hand. “I wanted to talk to you first.”

“Oh.” Erin says dumbly.

“I was thinking for after your parents left. How does that sound?” Ella asks and Erin nods. “Okay. They leave Monday, right?” Erin nods again. “Did you want to be there?” Ella asks the most important question of them all.

Erin thinks about the question. “Do you want me to be?”

Ella chuckles. “It would mean a lot to me if you were, but if you can’t or you don’t want to be, that’s fine too.” Ella tells her. “I know some people don’t like that sort of thing. Hospitals and sick people and machines and stuff. Is that something that bothers you.”

“No, I don’t think so.” Erin shakes her head. “I’ve never been at the hospital for anyone’s surgery before. Like, I’ve visited people after the fact and stuff but never waited while they were in surgery and been the one responsible for like- stuff like telling people that it’s over and stuff like that.”

“You’ve had surgery.” Ella says.

“Yeah, and my mom’s there every single time.”

“Well, you’re not my mom but I wouldn’t want anyone else to be there.” Ella says genuinely. “So, you’ll be there?”

“I’ll talk to Randy about it. But, yes.” Erin nods.

“Good.” Ella kisses Erin’s hand that she’s holding. “You should get ready. I’m sure your mom and dad don’t want you to be late on account of me.”

Erin scoffs. “They can wait, you’re more important.”

Ella grins. “Wow.”

“I mean- right now. They’re important to me too.” Erin clarifies a little.

“I get it, honey. Don’t worry. And please don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I’ll be fine. Just a minor setback.” Ella gets up and goes over to Erin’s closet. “Do you know what you’re going to wear?”

Erin shakes her head. “No.” She gets up and goes over by Ella. “You should pick something out for me.” She suggests.

“Really?” Ella raises an eyebrow at her. “You sure? What if I don’t pick something you’ll like.”

“They’re my clothes, Ella.” Erin puts her hands on her hips and raises an eyebrow at Ella.

“Fair point.” Ella flips through the clothes on the hangers before settling on a dark blue shirt for Erin to wear. “Here. Put on some black slacks too.” She hands the shirt off and goes back to the bed. She picks Max up on the way and they sit on the bed. Ella pets Max as she watches Erin change and get ready to have dinner with her parents.

* * *

 

Ella is up early the next day. She couldn’t sleep. She kisses Erin’s cheek and gets out of bed. Ella goes downstairs and starts on breakfast. It’s a new day. Sure, Ella is still super bummed about having surgery but there’s nothing she can do to avoid it at this point. Surgery is needed. And there’s no need to get upset or depressed about it. Ella knows that. She’s still bummed though because recovery from surgery and being limited for an athlete is the worst.

Ella has an idea of how she wants the day to go. Erin came back from dinner with her parents the night before and told Ella that they would be coming over between ten and eleven and then that they are all going to lunch together. Ella wants to get breakfast ready and then get Erin up and then they can eat together. After that, Ella intends on cleaning the house. Not that it’s messy but just cleaning up any areas that need it. That would include her room and then making sure Erin’s room is spruced up too.

All that before ten am. That and she needs to call the doctor to schedule her surgery.

* * *

 

The door bells rings and Erin looks to Ella who is sitting on the couch across the room from where she’s sitting. “Are you ready?” Erin asks.

“Are you?” Ella asks back.

Erin rubs her palms on the fabric of her shorts and gets up to answer the door. Ella stands as well and follows Erin to the door. Erin puts her hand on the knob and takes a deep breath. This is a huge moment for Erin. For her, it feels like it’s one of those moments in your life that you’ll remember forever. Erin doesn’t know what the future holds but she knows what she wants it to hold. And that’s the girl that just put her hand on the small of Erin’s back for support.

Erin pulls the door open and takes a step to the side. Her parents are standing there with smiles on their faces. They both glance into the house, their eyes settling on Ella.

“Hello, dear.” Erin’s mother greets her as she steps inside the house. She stands in front of Ella and holds out her hand. Ella looks down at Cheryl’s hand and takes it. “I’ll shake your hand but you should know I’m a hugger.” Ella says to her.

Cheryl chuckles and wraps her other arm around Ella. “Good to know, dear.”

“Hi, dad.” Erin hugs her dad.

“How are you today, Erin?” He asks.

“Good.” Erin tells him.

“Very well.” He moves on to Ella. “And you?”

“I’ve been better, Mr. McLeod.” Ella says.

Erin wrinkles up her nose at Ella not using her dad’s first name and she wonders why.

“Doug, please.” He holds out his hand for Ella to shake. “Erin told us about your injury. That stinks.”

“How are you feeling? How are you doing with that?” Cheryl asks.

“I’m fine.” Ella glances over at Erin. “Erin’s just making a big deal out of it.” She grins.

“That’s cuz it is a big deal. You have to have surgery.” Erin adds.

“Are you going to play tonight?” Doug asks Ella.

“Yes.” Ella is adamant about playing and she has every intention of doing so. “They’ll tape me up and I’ll go as long as I can.”

“Then I’m looking forward to seeing you play.” Doug says.

“What about me?” Erin squeaks.

“You too, Erin, you too. Always.” Doug tells his daughter.

“Can we get a tour of the house, dear?” Erin’s mother asks.

“Sure, mom.” Erin shuts the door and the foursome head into the living room. Erin shows her parents around the house. Ella follows with them holding Max in her arms as they go. Erin shows them the living room, kitchen, bathroom. Then they go upstairs and she shows them her room. She’s glad Ella made her clean up a little. Cheryl asks to see Ella’s room, believing someone’s room is a reflection of them as a person. Erin is hesitant but Ella is game and she leads Cheryl to her room with pride.

After the house tour, they go out to lunch and then on a little sightseeing of downtown Houston.

* * *

 

Ella only played the first half against Sky Blue. She sat on the bench for the rest of the game and cheered her team on to a victory. She signs autographs for the fans after the game. It was Houston’s last home game of the season and it was the Haley’s Heroes game. Ella makes sure she signs every single autograph and takes every single selfies that fans want from her. She goes to find Erin when she’s done. Erin’s on the other end of the stadium. Ella goes over there and as she gets closer she realizes that Erin is talking to her parents.

“Hi, Ella.” Cheryl says as Ella approaches.

“Hey.” Ella waves. “I see the party’s over here.” She jokes.

“Yeah.” Cheryl chuckles. “We’re just talking to Erin about tomorrow. You’re still coming with us, right?” She asks Ella.

Ella nods. “I’ll be there. Bright and early.” She grins.

“Good.” Cheryl says and turns her attention back to Erin. “Pick us up at eight, dear.” She tells her daughter.

“We’ll be there, mom. Don’t worry.” Erin assures her mother. “I know you want to get in as much time with me as possible while you’re here.”

“Ella too.” Doug says and nods and smiles at Ella.

“Okay.” See you guys in the morning.” Erin turns to Ella briefly before looking back to her parents. “Love you.” She says and turns away to return to the locker room. Ella turns with a wave to Erin’s parents and falls into step at Erin’s side.

“Today went well.” Ella says in reference to them having lunch and spending time with Erin’s mom and dad for a few hours in the afternoon.

“Yeah, it did. It was better than I expected. I thought everything was ruined for their stay here after we found out about your injury yesterday.” Erin sighs. She’s been worried about it but nothing else bad has happened.

“And I told you that everything would be fine. Your parents are great and your dad hasn’t tried to interrogate me or anything.”

“Yet.” Erin glances over at Ella. “Just wait. I’m sure he’s trying to get a good read on you so he knows just what to ask.”

They take a left turn to go into the locker room and Ella just nods, the discussion dropped for now.

* * *

 

The car ride out to Galveston is about an hour long. It’s an easy drive for Ella and she is able to talk and be a part of the conversation with Erin and her parents without having to pay attention to road signs or exits.

 They picked up Erin’s parents at their hotel at eight and were on the road shortly thereafter. It’s a beautiful day and Ella can’t wait to spend it with her girlfriend and her girlfriends parents.

They first visit the historical neighborhoods of Galveston. With all the historical homes and buildings. Getting a feel for the city and it’s history before moving on to the Galveston Art Center. Ella knows she hit the jackpot when she was doing a little research the night before and put the Art Center on the list of places they should visit today.

After art is lunch. Erin picks a restaurant that’s along the water and the four take a break from their activiites and have a nice relaxing meal.

“Erin, dear, what happens when the season is over. When is camp?” Cheryl asks as they are finishing their meals.

“Well.” Erin looks next to her at Ella. “We-“ She grins. “-we’ll be visiting Ella’s family as soon as the season is over. Then, we will make our way to Vancouver.”

Doug nods and sits back in his seat, finishes with his meal. “Is that so?” Cheryl asks.

“Yep.” Erin says and puts another forkful of her lunch into her mouth.

“I’m really excited about it.” Ella says.

“About seeing your family?” Cheryl asks.

“That and- and living in Vancouver this off season. It’ll be post-surgery so the beginning won’t be fun but that wouldn’t be fun anywhere. But, I’m excited to spend time in Vancouver.”

“So, this is a permanent thing?” Cheryl asks.

Erin and Ella look at each other. Erin shrugs. “Let’s see what happens.” Ella says.

After lunch they walk along the beach, the water’s edge. Doug pulls Ella aside. “Can I have a word?” He asks. Ella nods and they drop back a few paces from Erin and her mom. “So, I didn’t know you would be living with Erin this off-season?”

“We haven’t really told too many people. Just my siblings and my mom when we were in Chicago a few weeks ago. I hope that’s okay. I didn’t mean to- we didn’t mean to not tell you and tell my family first. They were just asking how I was going to be staying with this off-season. My sister or brother or mom. It was inadvertent. Is that the right word?” Ella ducks her head. “Sorry.”

Doug chuckles lightly. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. But, I do want to know one thing in all this.”

“What’s that?” Ella looks over at Doug.

“You really want to live in Vancouver. That’s in Canada, ya know. And it’s a very long way from Chicago. I just want to make sure you are sure about this. I don’t want you to be there for a few weeks and then decide you’d rather be in Chicago or something.”

Ella nods and licks her lips. “I’m sure. I’ll probably miss my family but I’ve haven’t truly been in Illinois for an off-season ever. I usually go play in Europe and then set up a training program somewhere.” Ella explains.

“Why aren’t you this year? You are going to play next season?” Doug asks.

“Train. I will. When the doctor says it’s okay again. After surgery but that won’t be for like six weeks.” Ella tells him.

“No, dear. Playing in Europe somewhere?”

“Oh.” Ella kicks at the sand. A small smile forms on one corner of her mouth. She looks over at Doug, makes eye contact with him, and then nods in Erin’s direction. “Last year, last off-season. When we started- it was hard being so far away. I don’t want to be far away. Heck, I don’t want to be away at all. We’re still figuring it all out but I want to be wherever Erin is.”

“Good answer.” Doug smiles at Ella.

“It’s the truth. I wouldn’t lie to you. Or make something up so you’ll like me. I tell it like it is.” Ella shrugs.

“I can see that.” Doug wraps her arm around Ella’s shoulders, squeezing her opposite bicep, and giving her a sort of side hug. “Erin, will you take our picture?” Doug yells ahead.

Erin spins around and sees her dad with his arm around Ella. Both of them with smiles on their faces. Erin pulls out her phone. “Sure, but only if we can take a group photo together.” She grins. The worry that bubbled up when her dad pulled Ella aside now gone. She takes a few photos of them together and then her mom wants to get in on the action and they have an impromptu photo session on the beach.

The afternoon ends with shopping and a little sightseeing before Ella drives them back to Houston to drop Erin’s parent’s off at their hotel.


	39. Chapter 39

“Are you nervous?” Erin asks as she watches Ella throw some clothes into a bag. She sits on Ella’s bed with Max on her lap. Erin holds him tight in one arm, scratching behind his ears with the other.

Ella shrugs. “Not really. Are you?”

“Uh- what else do you need yet?” Erin nods at Ella’s bag. She avoids Ella’s question because she is, in fact, nervous about Ella’s surgery. Erin worries about all the possibilities that happen anytime you have surgery. Every time someone goes under the knife there are risks. A risk of something going wrong. Erin’s scared that something could happen to Ella. And it’s a feeling that Erin has never felt before in her life. A feeling of fear for someone else’s safety and wellbeing. The feeling of something possibly happening to someone she loves and not being able to do anything about it.

“Erin?” Ella looks over at Erin. She senses something’s not quite right. “I have everything I need for tomorrow.”

“Oh. Okay. What else do we need to do before tomorrow?” Erin asks and looks around the room for something to do.

“Hey.” Ella steps in front of Erin. She takes Erin’s face in her hands. “You’re nervous, aren’t you?” Ella asks. Erin nods. “You don’t need to be.” Ella says and pulls Erin’s face into her stomach, hugging her head to that spot. Ella tries to think of something that will help Erin out. She doesn’t want Erin stressing out the whole time she’s in surgery. “It will be fine. The surgery is common and it’s low risk.”

“The risk is still there.” Erin says.

Ella thinks she might have thought of something that will help. “You should paint.” Ella looks down at Erin. She lets Erin pull her face away and Erin wrinkles up her brow at Ella. “Tomorrow. When I’m in surgery. To take your mind off of it.”

Erin scoffs. She thinks it’s a crazy idea. “What am I going to do? Bring paints and a canvas to the hospital and set up shop in your room.”

Ella shrugs. “Well- maybe not paint but you could sketch.”

Erin mulls it over. She thinks Ella might be onto something.

“What about that elephant sketch you’ve been working on?” Ella suggests. She leaves Erin and runs out of the room.

“Where are you going?” Erin yells after Ella. “Where is she going?” Erin asks Max.

Ella comes back moments later with Erin’s sketch pad and pencils. She takes her bag and sets it by the bedroom door for in the morning. Ella, then, sets Erin’s sketch pad and pencils on top of the bag. “There.” Ella smiles and goes back over to Erin. “Let’s go to bed, honey.”

* * *

 

Ella is laying in the hospital bed in her blue hospital gown waiting to be rolled into surgery. It’s early and Erin sits in a chair in the corner of the room, her knee bouncing wildly as she sits nervously.

Ella is a little anxious. Just to get into surgery and have it over and done with. The waiting is the worst part. She looks over at Erin and watches her. She knows Erin is nervous about the surgery. She knows Erin is worried about her. She knows Erin’s brain is spinning with possibilities.

“Hey.” Ella says, getting Erin’s attention.

Erin looks over. “What?”

“Come here.” Ella waves Erin over to the bedside. “And bring your phone.”

Erin does as Ella asks. She stands at Ella’s beside awkwardly, not knowing what else to do.

“Take my picture.” Ella says.

“What? You look ridiculous.” Erin tells Ella.

“Gee, thanks, hon.” Ella rolls her eyes. “I know I look ridiculous. That’s the point. But, let’s have a little fun with this. Take my picture.” She requests. “Hair net, hospital gown and all.”

Erin nods and opens up her camera app. She doesn’t understand why Ella wants to do this. It’s pretty ridiculous to her. “Okay.” She points the phone at Ella. Ella smiles extra big, goofy and gives Erin two thumbs up. Erin chuckles a little at Ella’s antics. “You’re a goofball.” She comments and takes a few more pictures with various silly faces and poses that Ella makes.

“Okay, one with you.” Ella says and holds out her hand for the phone.

“But, I’m not supposed to touch you or anything before surgery.” Erin tells her what the nurse told them.

“You don’t have to. I’ll take the picture. Get behind my shoulder.” Ella instructs and smiles her ‘please’ smile. Erin nods and does as Ella requests. Ella takes a couple photos of them and then hands the phone back to Erin. “There. Is that better?”

“Is what better?” Erin questions.

“Do you feel better? Lighter? Looser? Not as nervous?” Ella asks.

Erin thinks about it. She does. Well, maybe. “I was, I think. Until you brought it up.” Erin sighs. “I can’t help it, Ella.” She looks down at Ella laying in the bed.

“I know, Erin. I know.” Ella says in a low voice.

Just then the nurse comes back. “You ready?” She asks Ella.

Ella nods and looks to Erin. “Remember what I told you. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. Even though I know you will. Work on your drawing. Let it take your mind away. Distract you.” Ella says and Erin nods. Ella holds out her hand. Erin takes it and Ella squeezes Erin’s hand. “See ya on the flip side.” Ella grins. Erin chuckles a little and nods.

Ella looks back to the nurse and nods. “Now I’m ready.”

The nurse smiles shyly at the two before she moves to wheel Ella out of the room.

* * *

 

Erin returns to the chair in the corner a few seconds after Ella is taken to surgery. She texts Seredy and lets her know what’s happened so far. After she gets a reply, Erin silences her phone and sets it in her bag. She pulls out her sketch book and pencils and sets them on her lap. Erin closes her eyes and takes a long breath in and holds it before letting it out. She does this a few times before opening her eyes again and opening her sketch book. The nerves sit in her stomach as she sketches but Erin finds it fairly easy to get lost in her work. Her mind set on what she’s doing in the here and now and not what’s happening elsewhere in the hospital.

Erin looks up from her sketch book when Ella is wheeled back into the room. She’s been sitting in the chair drawing the whole time Ella’s been in surgery. She gives a small smile when she sees Ella laying unconscious in the bed. Ella was right, drawing was the perfect distraction for Erin. “How’d it go?” Erin asks the two nurses that have escorted Ella back.

“The doctor will be in with an update when she wakes up. If you just push the call button-“ The nurse holds to button up and wiggles it back and forth in the air before tucking it back by Ella’s side. “-when she wakes up I will come in and do a checkup.” The nurse explains to Erin.

Erin nods. “Okay. Thanks.”

“She could wake up any time now. Just let us know when.” Both nurses exit the room.

Erin nods again. She puts her sketch book and pencils into her bag as the nurses’ leaves. Erin moves her chair over to the side of Ella’s bed and sits down there. Ella is still unconscious but Erin sits there and watches her.

After a few minutes, Ella starts to wake up. She mumbles incoherently. Erin perks up from her spot next to the bed. “Ella?” She asks.

Ella rolls her head to her left, where she heard the voice come from. She blinks her eyes a few times as she looks at Erin. “Erin?” She asks with confusion.

“Yeah.”

Ella scrunches up her face. “What are you doing here?”

Erin chuckles. “You asked me to be here.” Erin explains. She knows Ella is all doped up and sort of out of it still. She’s probably on pain med and the anesthesia is still in her system.

Ella nods lightly. “Oh. Right.” Ella smiles at Erin. It’s sort of a lopsided smile but Ella puts everything that she has into it. “Thanks.”

“For what?” Erin asks. Ella starts to move in the bed. She tries to sit up but feels the discomfort in her abdomen. “Sit still.” Erin tells her and reaches for the call button and presses it.

The head nurse comes back in and she raises the bed and then helps Ella sit up a little higher in the bed. She checks Ella’s vitals while she’s there. “I’ll get the doctor. He should be in in a few minute to update you.” The nurse says and leaves again.

As soon as the nurse leaves Ella reaches her hand out in Erin’s direction.

“What?” Erin asks.

Ella wiggles her fingers. “Hand.” Ella requests. Erin presses her lips together. She holds her hand out for Ella to take. “Thank you.” Ella says and squeezes Erin’s hand tightly. “For being here today.”

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” Erin tells Ella.

“Aww, babe, I love you.” Ella smiles goofily.

Erin ducks her head. She knows it’s probably the drugs. Ella is not usually this open and affectionate in public places.

“Come here.” Ella says and tugs on Erin’s hand, trying to pull her up onto the bed with her.

Erin chuckles. “Ella, I can’t.”

Ella pouts. “Yes, you can.”

Erin shakes her head. “No, you just had surgery.”

“I know.” Ella says and tries to make a straight face. “Get up here.” Ella tries again to get Erin to get out of her chair and get into bed with her. But, Erin knows better. She knows she can’t. She knows Ella just had surgery and it’s probably highly frowned upon by the doctors and nursing staff.

The doctor comes in to give an update. He takes Ella’s chart from the end of the bed. He looks at the vitals that the nurse took a few minutes ago. “Alright, Ms. Masar and?” He looks over at Erin.

“Erin.” Erin supplies her name.

“Erin. The surgery went great but I made a rather interesting discovery while I was in there.” The doctor says.

“What?” Erin worries.

“Nothing bad.” The doctor assuages Erin’s worries. “But, there were two hernias, not just one.”

Ella is surprised. She looks to the doctor with wide eyes. “Really?”

The doctor smiles. “There was one regular hernia and one sports hernia. It’s quite impressive how you managed to go so long with such pain and discomfort.”

“She has a high pain tolerance.” Erin mumbles.

The doctor nods and writes something on Ella’s chart before closing it. He mostly talks to Erin while he explains what happens next. “Ella, you can go home in an hour or so. After the anesthesia wears off, after you have gotten up and walked around a little with no lightheadedness, and after you’ve successfully used the bathroom. You should rest the remainder of the day. Starting tomorrow you can move about but no major activities. No lifting for four to six weeks and you will need to be cleared before you can return to workouts.”

“The season’s almost over.” Ella mumbles.

“What she means is she won’t be here, in Houston, starting in a couple of weeks.” Erin translates Ella’s words for the doctor.

“We.” Ella corrects.

The doctor hums. “Then we’ll send your file to your new doctor and you can get checked out there. Wherever there might be.” The doctor smiles. He knows that Ella is a soccer player, knowing that when the season is over players go their separate ways. “The nurse will provide you with a packet of instructions on care and all that fun stuff. Make sure you change the bandage morning and night.” The doctor looks in Erin’s direction and she gives him a nod knowing to follow the instructions perfectly. “If neither of you have any questions, I will be on my way.”

“Nope, I’m good.” Ella says. “Erin?” She looks over at Erin.

Erin shakes her head. “No, doctor. Thank you.” She stands up and shakes the doctors hand.

The doctor reaches for Ella’s hand next. “Have a wonderful day. Both of you.” He smiles at nods at Ella, then Erin.

* * *

 

Erin drives Ella back to the house after they release Ella from the hospital. The pain meds Ella is on make her extra talkative and she babbles the whole way home. Some of which doesn’t make any sense to Erin but she nods along or agrees with wherever Ella is talking about.

Erin escorts Ella into the house and makes her sit on the couch while she takes Max out to go to the bathroom and get Ella’s bag out of the car. When Erin and Max return inside, Max runs over to the couch and jumps up, curling up by Ella’s hip, and resting his chin on Ella’s thigh.

“Maxy, Max, Max, Max. He loves me so. He loves me so soo. ER-IN.” Ella calls even though Erin is just on the other side of the room. “Where’s my other love. I need my two loves. I have so many loves but you guys are my main loves.”

Erin smirks. She goes over and sits down next to Ella, on the opposite side from Max. Ella takes Erin’s hand as soon as she’s sitting. “You are my main love. My love love love. My lover. My everything.” Ella leans over and tries to kiss Erin but feels the pain in her abdomen when she leans too far.

“Take it easy.” Erin says with a smile and gently pushes Ella back into sitting in an upright position in her spot. She then gives Ella the kiss that she is looking for. “I should get you all drugged up more often.” Erin jokes.

Ella scrunches up her face. “Why?”

Erin bops Ella on the tip of the nose. “Cuz you’re so touchy feely, lovey dovey and very affectionate right now.”

“And I’m not other times?”

Erin hums. “You’re more reserved than you are right now. And that’s okay. I know you want to keep some things private and just between us. But, you’re really loose right now, aren’t you? Feeling good, eh?” Ella nods and Erin kisses her cheek. “Okay, lets relax now and watch some trashy tv.” Erin says.

Ella sighs. “You know me so well. I love you so much.”

Erin grins. “I know babe. I love you too.” Erin turns on the tv and settles into the couch, and lets Ella settle into her side.

After a few minutes, Ella asks Erin where her phone is. Erin gets up and gets Ella’s phone out of the bag that they brought to the hospital. “Did you tell my sister?”

“Yep. I took care of it. No need to worry.” Erin smiles at Ella and hands over the phone. She sits down again next to Ella.

Ella unlocks her phone and sees the messages from her friends, family, and teammates wishing her luck on her surgery and wishing her well. She reads through them all and sends out replies. She finds the text messages that Erin sent her early this morning, right after she went into surgery, with the photos that they took before she was taken out of the room.

She knows her fans have been sending her messages on Twitter and wishing her well and supporting her. Ella wants to show her appreciation. She picks the silly thumbs up photo and gets ready to post it.

“What are you doing?” Erin asks, leaning over and trying to look at Ella’s phone.

But, Ella pulls her phone away so Erin can’t see. “Nothing.” Ella smiles and starts typing out a caption: Ur face when u find out there was 2 good ‘ol Herns in there, not 1 ha #nojoke but HOME n thanking all 4 the support!

Erin saw that Ella had social media open and she knows how she can find out what Ella is up to. Erin grabs her phone and goes to look for herself. She chuckles when she sees the post and Ella’s drugged caption. Then again, she thinks it’s not much different from the words Ella usually uses.

* * *

 

The roommates are all in the living room talking and some game plays on the tv in the background. It’s not that late but Ella’s eyes are drooping and she’s having a hard time staying awake.

“Erin.” Bianca says, getting Erin’s attention. Erin looks to Bianca. Bianca nods at Ella who has her eyes closed.

Erin looks to her right to Ella. She nods. “Thanks.” She says to Bianca. Erin shakes Ella’s leg gently. “Hey, babe.” She wakes Ella up. “Let’s go to bed.”

Ella just nods.

Erin helps Ella up from the couch and Ella walks over to the stairs by herself but Erin is there to help her up the stairs if she needs it. Erin gets Ella settled in bed when they get up to her room. She starts cleaning up the room a little, thinking that Ella will probably fall asleep right away. Erin looks over at the bed when she’s done cleaning up and sees that Ella is still awake and she’s watching Erin’s every move. Erin changes into pajamas with an eye on the girl in the bed the whole time. Ella’s eyes never leave Erin.

Erin focuses all her attention on Ella. “Hey.” Erin whispers.

Ella shakes her head. “Hi.” She’s feeling more herself. The drugs have worn off for the most part and she’s feeling more clear headed. Ella holds out her hand. “Come here.”

“What is it? Is something wrong?” Erin asks as she approaches Ella’s side of the bed. Erin sits on the edge of the bed next to Ella’s hip and takes her hand, holding it softly, rubbing her thumb gently over the back of Ella’s hand.

“No, nothing’s wrong.” Ella smiles softly. “I just want you close.”

Erin nods. “I’m here. Whatever you need.”

Ella squeezes Erin’s hand. “I’m good right now but you’ve been wonderful all day. Taking care of me and doing anything I need. Thank you, babe. I know I act all tough and like I don’t need anything or any help most of the time. But today, I couldn’t have done it without your help. So thank you.”

“Anything for you, Ella. I love you. And really, I’m just happy you let me.” Erin tells her.

Ella pulls one side of her mouth up into a crooked smile, knowing that Erin is talking about when she had her concussion and being rude and not wanting help from anyone. “And I’m so lucky to have you. I love you.” Ella pulls on Erin’s hand.

“What are you doing?” Erin asks.

“I want you close.” Ella says for a second time. “Lay with me.”

Erin nods. She puts one hand on the opposite side of Ella that she is sitting. If Ella hadn’t just had surgery Erin might just roll across Ella’s body but she knows that’s not an option. Erin pushes herself up and she sticks a knee into the mattress. Erin climbs over Ella without touching Ella and lays down next to her. Erin props her head up on her hand, her elbow digging into the bed. “What now?” Erin asks quietly.

Ella grins happily. “Cuddles.” She holds open her arms and Erin curls into the crook of Ella’s arm, tilting her chin up and kissing Ella’s jaw. Ella wraps her arm around Erin, giving her a squeeze. Erin throws her leg across Ella’s legs and lays her arm gently across Ella’s chest, her hand on Ella’s collarbone stroking over the protruding bone with her thumb.

“Is this okay?” Erin asks.

“Perfect.” Ella closes her eyes and nods.

Erin lays with Ella until she falls asleep. She then gets out of bed slowly and carefully without waking Ella. Erin goes downstairs. Bianca is still sitting in the chair in the living room, her headphones on, doing something on her laptop. Max sit at her feet. Erin goes over and mouths a ‘thank you’ to Bianca and points to Max. Bianca nods and gives Erin a tightlipped smile. Erin scoops up Max and they go outside so Max can do his business before they go up to bed.

* * *

 

The next morning Ella wakes up and finds Erin still asleep. She lets Erin sleep. Erin doesn’t have practice until afternoon and she knows Erin was pretty wired the day before and probably tired and needs the extra sleep. She kisses Erin’s forehead gently and gets out of bed.

Ella knows she was out of it the day before and everything is a little hazy. Anesthesia and pain meds with do that. But when she sees Erin’s sketch book open on her desk as she’s leaving the bedroom Ella stops and takes a good look. It looks finished and she knows Erin worked on it during surgery and when they got home when Ella feel asleep on the couch with her legs in Erin’s lap.

“Amazing.” Ella whispers. She gathers Max and they go downstairs to find something to eat. Ella knows she’ll definitely have to mention how much she loves to piece to Erin when she wakes up. She also knows that she has to brag about it to the whole world too.

* * *

 

That evening Ella is sitting on the couch, with Max at her side, resting. Bianca is in the recliner across from the couch watching something on tv. Erin comes into the room and plops down on the couch next to Ella.

“What have you been up to?” Ella asks and slips her hand under Erin’s arm and rests it against the inside of Erin’s forearm.

“I had a few emails to attend to.” Erin says with a nod of the head.

“Attend to?” Ella raises an eyebrow.

“Yes.” Erin nods.

“You’re weird.” Ella chuckles.

“I’m not weird. You’re weird.” Erin says back lamely.

“You’re both weird. Shut up.” Bianca interjects. “I’m trying to watch this.” She points at the tv with the tv remote.

It’s quiet for a few minutes but Ella starts to get antsy. It’s been happening all day. She feels fine except for some soreness in her abdomen but she’s not supposed to do anything strenuous or be highly active. Erin glances over at Ella when her leg starts bouncing.

“Is there anything I can do? Anything I can get you?” Erin asks.

Erin has been doing it all day. Catering to Ella’s every need. And Ella has been taking full advantage. After the concussion, when she wouldn’t let Erin do anything, wouldn’t let Erin help, Ella felt bad. It wasn’t her intention to push Erin away at that time but she needed to do things for herself. This time, with this injury, Ella is eating it up and letting Erin tend to her. Ella is going to milk the next couple of days for whatever she can.

“Could you, maybe, rub my feet?” Ella asks.

Erin hops up from her seat and kneels down on the floor in front of Ella. Ella watches as Erin removes both of her socks and then starts rubbing at her left foot first. “How’s that?” Erin asks, looking up into Ella’s eyes.

Ella smiles, nods, and then closes her eyes. “Perfect.”

Bianca glances over. “Do you like have a foot fetish or something?”

Erin glares over at Bianca. “No.”

Ella speaks up. “There’s nothing wrong with my feet.”

Bianca scrunches up her face. “No one said anything about your feet, Ella. But, now that you mention it, there probably is.”

“Why do you say that?” Ella asks in offense.

“Because you’ve been playing soccer for what? 20 years now?” Bianca smirks.

Erin smiles but she knows not to laugh.

“Funny.” Ella rolls her eyes. “I’m not that old.”

“Yet.” Bianca adds.

Erin takes control of the conversation before it gets out of hand. “Does this feel good?” Erin asks, rubbing Ella right foot now.

Ella nods and closes her eyes again with a content sigh. Erin rubs at Ella’s feet for a few more minutes. “Is there anything else?” Erin asks as she puts Ella’s socks back on.

Ella opens her eyes and shakes her head. She holds out her hand to Erin. Erin takes the hand and stands up and rejoins Ella on the couch.

“Thank you.” Ella whispers and leans in to kiss Erin’s cheek.

Erin grins toothily at Ella. “Anything for you, babe.”

“It’s greatly appreciated.” Ella says. “I can’t exactly bend over and massage my own feet right now.”

“Is that your excuse?” Erin raises an eyebrow, not believing Ella for a minute. Ella nods. “Okay, then.” Erin shakes her head lightly. Erin settles into Ella side and get comfortable. “What now?” Erin asks.

“You two shut up. That’s ‘what now’. I’m trying to watch this.” Bianca says with a glare.

Ella smirks and Erin mumbles a ‘sorry’ in Bianca’s direction.

* * *

 

“Are you excited?” Erin asks when she sees Ella’s leg bouncing up and down.

“Yes.” Ella says matter of factly.

“And you’re sure you’re up for this tonight?” Erin asks.

“Yes. I told you that. I’m fine. We’ll be sitting the whole time.” Ella insists.

“I know. But your surgery was only four days ago.” Erin takes Ella’s hand in hers and gives it a squeeze. “Tonight should be fun.”

The car drops them off at Fenway and they go inside right away and find their seats. Erin makes sure Ella is situated in her seat and then goes to get them hot dogs and drinks. She doesn’t usually eat that kind of thing but tonight they are out at the ball game and it’s a special occasion.

Erin is walking back to her seat when she hears two matching voices calling her name. “Aunty Erin.”

A giant smile blooms on Erin’s face. “Oh gosh, hi guys.” Erin’s hands are full otherwise she would give her niece and nephew a hug when they meet her at the end of the aisle. “How about we get to our seats so I can put this stuff down?” She tells them and they both nod and scramble back down to where Ella is sitting with Erin’s sister. Erin gets there and practically dumps the food in Ella’s lap and then picks up her niece, Lily, and gives her a tight hug.

“Ella’s here.” Lily says in her little voice.

“I know.” Erin smiles. “She came with me.”

Lily nods and Erin puts her down before picking Malcom up and squeeze him tight too. “Missed you, bud.” Erin says and puts her hand on the top of his head, squeezing it lightly.

“I missed you, too. But, can you put me down. I want to watch.” He points out to the baseball field where the players are out and warming up.

Erin chuckles. “Okay.” She puts Malcom down and takes her seat next to Ella. Erin takes her hot dog from Ella’s lap and opens it up as she listens in on what Ella is talking about with Megan. Erin lets them talk as she eats her hot dog. She enjoys just listening as Ella explains everything that happened with her injury and her surgery.

“What’s a hernia?” Lily asks after the word is used multiple times.

Erin picks her up and set her on her lap. “Well, Ella had and injury. An owie but it was on the inside. Right here.” She points to the spot on Lily that Ella had her hernia.

“How’d she get an owie on the inside?” Lily asks with concern.

Erin glances over at Ella. She has stopped talking with Megan and both are looking at Erin to explain. “Well.” Erin licks her lips. “You see, Ella plays really hard and fast when she plays soccer.”

“She played too hard?” Lily asks. “Sometimes Malcom gets hurt if he plays too hard.”

“Something like that.” Erin bites her lip and looks at Ella. Lily follows her aunt’s eyes and she stares at Ella to, trying to figure out something.

Ella catches the little girl looking at her. “You wanna see the scar?” Ella asks and stands up.

“Ella.” Erin grabs at Ella’s arm as she starts to lift her shirt up. “No.” Erin shakes her head.

Ella stops and lets her shirt fall back into place. She eyes Erin. “Fine.” Ella sits back down and starts looking around the stadium.

“Lily come here.” Megan tells her daughter. She shoots her sister a look, a sly grin, and then a shake of her head before pulling Lily up onto her lap.

Erin just rolls her eyes before leaning into Ella’s side. “Eat your hot dog.” She bought Ella a hot dog and she doesn’t want it to get cold, and then Ella not want it, and it go to waste.

“Yes, mom.” Ella says.

Malcom turns around when he hears Ella call Erin mom. “She’s not your mom.”

The three adults all laugh. “No. You’re right about that. She’s definitely not my mom. It was a joke.” Ella tells the little boy. “Watch warm-ups.” She tells him. Malcom frowns in confusion but turns around and focuses back on the baseball players.

* * *

 

“On the last video chat you said you had a surprise for me.” Malcom says into the second inning.

“I did, didn’t I?” Erin asks and Malcom nods his head.

“You did.” Ella confirms. She was there when Erin said it. She remembers, just like Malcom.

Erin narrows her eyes at Ella before answering Malcom. “I don’t have it with me today. But, tomorrow. You guys are coming to mine and Ella’s game. Find Ella. Flag her down. Do whatever you have to.” Erin jokes. “She’ll have your surprise.”

“Why her?” Malcom asks.

“Cuz she’s not playing. Find her before the game. During warm-ups, she’ll have a present for you and your sister from us.” Erin tells the boy.

“Sweet.” Malcom says with a fist pump and goes back to watching the game.

“Us?” Meg asks.

Erin shrugs and looks at Ella. Ella shrugs too. “Yeah.” She says.

* * *

 

The next day is the game in Boston. It’s a 1-0 loss. The team stays in the Northeast ahead of their make-up game with Sky Blue. The Dash spend the day after the Boston game in the woods of Connecticut relaxing and letting loose a little. Out in nature and trying to unite as a team before their final game. Their team walk turns into a hike up a very large hill.

“How you doing?” Erin asks Ella as she comes up behind her.

Ella is a little winded and out of breath. She feels like she’s out of shape and lagging behind everybody else when in reality that’s not the case. Maybe a little out of her usually physical condition but not out of shape. “I’m fine.” Ella lies.

Erin gives her an exaggerated nod. “Sure.” She doesn’t believe Ella but pats her shoulder as they keep moving, following their walk leader, Kealia.

* * *

 

“Gather round.” Erin says. The whole team gathers in a circle around Erin. It’s the last game of the season. For all the other teams the regular season is already over but they have this make-up game against Sky Blue that needs to be played. Erin feels like she has to say something before the game. She doesn’t always make a speech before every game. Only sometime. And today is one of those sometimes. “Okay, ladies, this is the last one of the season. So enjoy it. No matter what happens. I, for one, have enjoyed playing for this team and you fine players this season. I’ve been honored to be your captain out on the field.”

“And off.” Ella mumbles.

Erin rolls her eyes. “On and off the field. It was truly a pleasure. So enjoy this game, this team. No one knows what’s going to happen going into next season but odds are- someone that’s in this room tonight won’t be next year. So, appreciate it. Now let’s go.” Erin says and leads the team out onto the field.


	40. Chapter 40

“So, I’ve been wanting to ask you something since you’ve been here.” Tyson says smoothly.

Erin wonders if he means since she’s been at his house today or since she and Ella got to Illinois over a week ago. Not that it matters either way. Erin shrugs. “Ask away.” She tells him.

“I was wondering- I wanted to know- I mean what was it like?” Tyson rambles adorably. He’s nervous to ask Erin about this but he can’t stop thinking about it.

“What was what like?” Erin asks for clarification.

“Playing in the Olympics, in London- well, mostly playing in that game against the US?” Ella told Tyson not to ask Erin about it, but he just can’t help it. The former soccer player in him needs to know. “At Old Trafford?” Tyson adds, leaning into the counter with his hip, facing Erin, impatiently waiting for her answer.

Erin stops what she’s doing and looks Tyson square in the eyes. “Well, the way we lost was heartbreaking.” Erin starts.

“I’m USA all the way but you guys got screwed in that game.” Tyson says.

Erin smiles. “You sound like your sister. Thank you for saying that, but it is what it is. Being two plus years removed from it now, I have a different perspective about that game now than I did back then. It’s a strange thing. Maybe it’s age, maybe it’s experience. But we needed to go through that game. We, as a team, in many ways, needed that game to play out the way it did. Was it fair? Maybe not. But it’s what happened.”

Tyson nods. He has lots of follow up questions. “In all my years playing and watching soccer I’ve maybe seen that call once or twice. It almost seems rigged the way that it happened when it did.”

Erin shrugs. “As a keeper, you know about the rule. And as a keeper I’ve never had it called on me before. I’ve had warnings before about holding the ball but never- that.” Erin bows her head. She subconsciously looks down at her hands. She balls them into tight fists, holding her breath, before release both her fists and a puff of air. Even after two years she still gets emotional and frustrated about what happened that day in Manchester, England.

Tyson raises his hand to Erin’s shoulder when he sees she’s upset. He gives her shoulder a squeeze and Erin looks back up at him. “I’m sorry. Am I upsetting you?” Tyson apologizes.

“No, no. It’s okay.” Erin takes a deep breath. “Anything else?”

“What was the stadium like? Ella says you’re a City fan but it had to have been awesome to play there.”

“It was.” Erin nods and smiles. “It’s one of the coolest places I’ve played in the world. There’s nothing like playing at home, in Canada. But, Old Trafford has to be in my top three after places in Canada. It’s was super cool.”

“That’s awesome.” Tyson grins like a five-year-old on Christmas morning. “I bet the crowd was amazing. That’s such a soccer city. I bet the atmosphere was great.”

“It was. It really was.” Erin smiles as the memories are brought back to life in her mind.

“I remember watching that game and just sitting there in suspense the entire second half. It was crazy. It’s gotta be the most epic game in women’s soccer history.”

“Maybe.” Erin chuckles.

“And you’re a part of it.” Tyson adds.

“I am.” Erin nods proudly. She may not have been on the winning side of that epic history but she was definitely there and she had a major role in the game. It’s historic, that’s for sure.

“What’s it like playing the US?” Tyson asks, almost as an afterthought.

Erin sighs. “It’s our toughest challenge as a team. They play physical, they’re strong, they hold possession like nobody else. It’s tough going in knowing all that. We have to be playing together, as one, if we want to have a shot at them.” Tyson nods. “One day we’ll beat them.”

“Beat who?” Ella appears in the kitchen.

Tyson physically takes a step away from Erin. He looks at Ella and then back at Erin. He’s too afraid to say anything to Ella about what they were just talking about.

“Hey, you have fun playing with the girls?” Erin asks.

“Yeah, they wanted me to come find you. What’s going on here?” Ella asks, looking between her older brother and her girlfriend. She feels like she’s missing something. She feels something strange in the air. “We’re you talking about me?” Ella challenges Tyson.

“No.” He shakes his head.

Erin chuckles. “We weren’t talking about you, babe. Don’t worry.”

“Beat who?” Ella goes back to her original question.

“I’m going to see if anybody needs anything in the other room.” Tyson says and hurries out of the kitchen.

Ella’s not dumb. She knows they were talking about something and they won’t tell her what it is. “What are you hiding, McLeod?”

“I’m not hiding anything.” Erin says.

“Then what were you talking about? Beating who?”

“The US.” Erin supplies.

“Why were you two talking about beating the US?” Ella asks.

Erin shrugs and turns back to the sink. “Tyson was asking about the Olympics.”

“About the bronze medal game?” Ella asks, hopeful that Tyson wasn’t asking about what she told him not to ask Erin about.

“No, about the semi-final against the US.” Erin says and washes the last dish in the sink. She pulls the drain plug and turns to Ella.

Ella looks at Erin. “Really?”

“Yeah, why?” Erin asks and wipe her hands dry.

“I told him not to ask you about that. He’s dead meat.” Ella spins around and goes to find her brother. “TYSON.” Ella yells through the house.

Erin shakes her head and chuckles as Ella goes.

* * *

 

“The last week has been truly great.” Ella sighs happily as she settles into bed.

“It has.” Erin agrees. “I’ve had tons of fun with the kids and it’s been great getting to know your family members better.

“Come.” Ella holds out her hand towards Erin.

Erin is folding her clothes and putting them in her suitcase. They are leaving the next day for Vancouver. Erin crawls across the bed, per Ella’s request. She lays on her stomach next to Ella. “You’re really happy when you’re around your family.”

Ella gives Erin a tight-lipped smile. “They’re one of three things that make me the happiest.”

“What are the other two?” Erin asks, already knowing the answer.

Ella rolls onto her side so she’s pressed up against Erin. “Soccer.” She says and then leans in to put her lips against Erin’s ear. “And you.” Ella whispers. “And as much as I love my family and love spending time with them I’m excited to go to Vancouver tomorrow. I want to get things started there, and get settled in, and get a job, and spend time with _your_ family.”

Erin smiles. “I’m excited too.” She tucks Ella’s hair behind her right ear. “It will be good. I have to start training in a couple of weeks so I’ll be busy but until then we can focus on settling in.”

Ella sighs and leans in for a much needed kiss. “Mmm, I love you.” Ella mumbles after the kiss. “Let’s sleep.”

“What about packing?” Erin asks.

“We can do it in the morning. We don’t leave til like eleven.” Ella says.

“Let me just get a couple more things in my bag and then I’ll get the light.” Erin says. She wants to be prepared and not rushed the next morning.

Ella groans. “Fine.” She just wants to be in bed with Erin and sleep. Her family is great and all but they’ve been spending every waking hour with family. There’s been no private time just for them over the last week. Ella doesn’t want much. She just wants a little time before they go to sleep.

* * *

 

It’s fairly easy for Ella to settle into life in Vancouver. She finds a job coaching a youth soccer team to occupy her time. She knows Erin is going to be in training with the National team for most of October and November. She knows she’s going to need some things to do to fill her time. Coaching soccer is one of those things. Plus, she’ll be making some money to help pay for things. She doesn’t want Erin to think she’s taking advantage of her by living at Erin’s place, eating Erin’s food, using her utilities and not contributing in some way.

Erin spends tons of time with Ella in the days leading up to National team residency. They go to visit her parents on the island. They spent time with Cara and her fiancé. And Ella invites Cara to hang out with them one day. Erin plans the day and they go to Whistler.

They are hiking up the mountain, about halfway up, when Ella turns around. “I don’t know if I can do this, Erin.”

Erin scrunches her face up. A mixture of concern and curiosity.

“What’s up Masar? Out of shape?” Cara teases.

Ella hesitates. “Yes, but that’s not the problem.”

“Then what is?” Cara asks with confusion.

“She’s afraid of heights.” Erin supplies the answer.

“No shit.” Cara chuckles. “Wow. Then why are we doing this?”

“I thought I could do it. The higher we get though- I don’t know.” Ella says in embarrassment.

Erin bites her lip. “I asked if this was going to be okay and you didn’t hesitate when you said it would be fine.”

“Does this mean we’re not ziplining?” Cara pouts.

“Shush.” Erin hushes her sister. She takes Ella shoulder’s in her hands and looks Ella in the eyes. “I’m going to need an answer from you. Can you do this or not?” Erin asks. Ella tries to avoid Erin’s eyes but Erin won’t let her. “Ella, you’re one of the toughest, strongest, most determined people I know. You can do this. I know you can. Nothing’s going to happen to you. I won’t let it. But if it’s too much we can turn around and go back down.” Ella nods. “What do ya say? Let’s concur this fear.” Erin adds with encouragement. She looks around quickly. “Ella?” Erin asks for an answer. Ella nods and it brings a smile to Erin’s lips. Erin leans in and presses her lips quickly to Ella’s before pulling away.

“Aww.” Cara coos.

Erin rolls her eyes. “Let’s go.” She says and starts leading Ella and Cara up the mountain.

“Wait.” Ella stops them.

“What now?” Cara grunts like a brat.

Ella goes over to Erin and takes the hat off of her head, putting it on her own. “Okay.” Ella says and starts up the trail in front of Erin and Cara.

Erin smiles as Ella leads the way. Cara comes up behind her sister and walks next to her. “You’re just going to let her steal your hat?” She asks Erin. Erin smiles over at her sister and shrugs her shoulders.

* * *

 

Erin comes home and Max greets her at the door. She’s excited because she and Ella agreed to a much-needed date night tonight. Erin has been busy with training and work for PDL and hasn’t had a lot of free time to just relax and go out. Ella is pretty understanding about all of it. Erin knows she lucky that Ella is so great about it and encourages her to go after her passions.

“Ella?” Erin calls into the apartment. She waits but doesn’t get a response. Thinking that maybe Ella is napping she goes into the bedroom but doesn’t find Ella there. Erin looks at her watch. She told Ella she would be home by six and that they would go out afterwards. It’s 6:10 so she’s a little late but it’s nothing crazy. Ella should be here, waiting, but Erin doesn’t see any signs of her.

Erin gets her phone out and sends Ella a text. **‘I’m home. Where are you?’** She puts her phone in her pocket and grabs Max. She takes him outside and he does his business. “Has Ella been home at all today?” Erin asks Max as they head back inside. He just looks at her with his cute doggy face, unaware that she asked him a question.

Erin doesn’t want to get anything to eat, even though she’s hungry. They are supposed to go out to it. She wonders where Ella could be and what she could be doing. She doesn’t want to police Ella and tell her where she can and can’t go. Erin wishes she had asked Ella what her plans were for the day, that morning, before she left for her workout.

Erin looks at her phone every few minutes hoping to see a reply from Ella. There isn’t one. She starts to worry and her mind spins with possibilities.

* * *

 

Ella pulls her phone out of her bag along with her wallet. “I got this one.”

“Are you sure? We can split it.” Wes offers.

“No, I got it. It’s just coffee and a cookie. You can get the next time.” Ella tells him with a smile.

“Who says there’s gonna be a next time.” Wes jokes with his classic charming smile. “But, sure, I’ll let you pay this time.”

Ella laughs. She gets out her card and when the waitress comes by again Ella flags her down. The waitress takes the card and comes back a couple of minutes later. “I just need you to sign the receipt and that’ll be all. You two have a lovely night.” The waitress says.

“Oh, we’re not-“ Ella starts.

“Thank you.” Wes interrupts, telling the waitress. “Good night, yourself.” He grins.

The waitress walks away. “Why did you say that?” Ella asks Wes.

“I was being polite.”

“No.” Ella signs the receipt. “The night part. It’s not- we’re not-“

“Ella, the day’s pretty much over.” Wes comments.

Ella furrows her brow together. She picks up her phone quickly to check the time. She’s not wearing a watch. The screen lights up and she sees that it’s after eight. She also sees that she has two text messages from Erin. “Shit.” Ella didn’t realize it had gotten so late. “I have to go.” Ella gets out of her chair quickly.

Wes smiles up at Ella, who is now standing over him. “Someone more important than myself?”

Ella chuckles. “There’s no one more important than you.” She jokes back. Wes is self-centered and Ella tells him and makes fun of him for it almost daily. “I have to go. I’ll see you at the work.” Ella hurries away, out of the little coffee shop that they stopped at after work.

Ella rushes into the apartment. She doesn’t see Erin but she does see the light on in the bedroom. She goes towards the room; the door is shut halfway. Ella pushes the door open and sees Erin laying on her side, in bed, with Max tucked into her stomach.

“I thought you were going to text me when you got done and let me know that you would be coming home.” Ella says first.

Erin huffs out a breath. “I came home instead and you weren’t here. It didn’t matter if I would have texted you when I got done cuz I texted when I got home and you never responded.”

Ella can hear the hurt in Erin’s voice. She climbs onto the bed behind Erin. Erin tucks further into herself as Ella gets closer. “I’m sorry. I lost track of time. I was with Wes. We went for coffee after work. I was waiting for your text. My phone must have been on silent. We were talking and I lost track of time. I’m sorry Erin. I didn’t mean to miss our date night. We can still go out if you want.”

“You spend an awful lot of time with this Wes guy.” Erin says bitterly.

Ella frowns. “I coach with him. Well, not with him but we are both coaches. You know that. I told you that. He’s my friend.” She supplies.

“Is that it?” Erin asks.

Ella is taken aback with the harsh words that Erin is throwing at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Ella asks, getting defensive, and folding her arms over her chest.

“It means-“ Erin looks over her shoulder at Ella. “-that you seem like more than friends. I see the way your eyes light up when you get a text from him or the way you laugh at something he’s texted. I’m not blind.”

That stumps Ella. She doesn’t know what to say.

Erin looks away from Ella again and continues. “I know I’ve been gone a lot with training but we’re getting ready for the World Cup and that is really important and my main focus right now. I know that doesn’t leave much time for us but tonight was supposed to be date night. We planned that a few days ago. Or don’t you remember?”

“I remember.” Ella says softly. She feels caught up in something. Something that she didn’t know was happening and now it’s happened and feelings are hurt and she’s caught up. Ella is at a loss and her mind is running away from her, thinking, processing.

“I asked you to come to Vancouver because I wanted us to be closer and I wanted it to be easier but it’s not. Is it?” Erin asks bitterly.

“He just my friend.” Ella says lamely.

Erin chuckles cynically. “Prove it.”

Ella’s eyes widen. She wasn’t expecting that. She wasn’t ready for that to come from Erin. It’s a challenge. It’s Erin challenging her and not putting up with anything Ella says or does. For Erin, it’s something she had to say.

It doesn’t take Ella long to think of a way to prove it. “Okay.” She whispers.

Erin looks over her shoulder again at Ella with questioning eyes. “Are you free tomorrow night?” Ella asks her. Erin nods. “No team commitments?” Ella wants to make sure.

“No.” Erin whispers.

“Okay.” Ella says. She reaches for her phone and sends out a quick text. She gets a reply right away. “It’s all set.” Ella turns off her phone and puts it on the nightstand. She pulls the blankets back and gets into bed. She scoots up behind Erin and when Erin doesn’t move away from her, Ella takes that as a good sign. “I’ll prove it tomorrow. You’ll see.” Ella says and brushes the hair off of Erin’s neck. Her lips swipe over the roman numerals that grace the skin there.

Ella gives Max a little push from his spot near Erin’s stomach and he jumps off the bed. “Good boy.” Ella tells him. Her hand comes around and Ella slips her fingertips up underneath Erin’s shirt.

“Ella.” Erin protests lightly. She doesn’t put up too much of a fight though. She’s upset that Ella missed their date night and she’s jealous that Wes gets most of Ella’s time and attention these days.

Ella works her lips to Erin’s ear, sucking on the earlobe lightly. “I’ll prove it right now.” Ella whispers into Erin’s ear before pushing down on her shoulder so that Erin is on her back and Ella is hovering over her.

Erin finds herself swallowing thickly and nodding.

* * *

 

Erin goes down to PDL headquarters just after lunch and Ella heads to the grocery store. Ella needs Erin out of the house while she gets ready for the evening. She needs to clean and cook and get everything ready for their guest. Ella must make a few things clear to a few people and she plans on killing two birds with one stone, as they say.

The text Ella sent the night before was to Wes. It was asking him if he could come over for dinner. When he said yes, Ella knew how she was going to remedy the situation. How she was going to prove to Erin that Wes is just her friend, like a brother. And she has to prove to Wes that she is in a committed relationship with Erin.

Ella spends all afternoon preparing. She showers and puts a dress on after she gets dinner in the oven.

Erin comes home and is stunned the moment she opens the door. Max comes running and meets his mommy with a happy wagging tail at the door. Erin picks him up and slowly walk across the room. She walks over to where Ella is standing at the kitchen counter making a salad. “What is all this?” Erin asks.

Ella smiles gently and looks to Erin. “An apology for last night. Number 1. Number 2. It’s to prove to you that Wes is just my friend. He’s coming over for dinner.”

“What?” Erin doesn’t like that idea.

“Calm down. It’s fine. It’s time that you two met. And after tonight everything will be smoothed out and put to rest. For all three of us.” Ella says and refocuses on her salad. “He will be here in a few minutes, by the way.”

“Thanks for the warning.” Erin huffs.

“Don’t be a pissy pants. I, actually, think you’ll like Wes. At first, he might not come across that way but he grows on you. He’s a good guy.”

“You’ve known him for like three weeks.” Erin is skeptical.

Ella wipes her left hand on the kitchen towel and reaches up with it, curling her fingers into the collar of Erin’s V-neck t-shirt. She pulls Erin towards her and kisses her. “Go get ready for dinner.”

Erin rolls her eyes. “Fine.” She turns away from Ella. “But I’m not dressing up.”

* * *

 

The door buzzer rings when Erin is in the bedroom. Ella sets the salad on the table and goes to get the door. She opens the door with a smile. “Hey.”

Wes steps into the apartment and looks around quickly. “So, this is where you live.” He smiles big.

Max comes running out of the bedroom but stops when he spots Wes. Ella looks down at the little dog. “It’s okay, buddy. Come here.” Max walks over to Ella and she picks him up. “This is my friend, Wes.” She tells Max. “Wes, this is my boy, Maxwell.”

“I didn’t know you had a dog.” Wes says and reaches out to pet Max’s head.

Ella smiles down at Max before kissing the top of his head. “Yep. Come in. Dinner’s just about ready and Erin is- I don’t know what Erin’s doing.”

Wes nods and closes the door. He takes his coat off and throws it over the back of the couch. Ella sets Max on the floor. “Go find mommy.” She tells Max and he runs back into the bedroom. “I’ll give you a little tour, it’s a little apartment.” Ella walks over to the table. “This is the dining area. And that is the kitchen area. Over by the couch over there-“ She points at the couch. “-that the living room area. The bathroom is in the hall on the right and then there’s the bedroom but you don’t need to see that.”

“Wooowww.” Wes exaggerates.

“Don’t make fun. This is a great place.” Ella says.

“I think so too.” Erin says approaching Ella and Wes. “Hi, I’m Erin.” She holds out her hand for Wes to shake.

He takes Erin’s hand and gives it a firm shake. “Wes.” He smirks. Wes looks to Ella. “I guess I’ll have to stop hitting on you now.” He says with a chuckle.

“What now?” Erin asks, with a raised eyebrow.

Ella growls. “It’s nothing. The first day or two that we met he was just being a jackass and hitting on me.”

“You’re good looking. Any guy would be crazy not to.” Wes tries to defend his actions.

“And I told you that I was with somebody.” Ella says.

“And I didn’t believe you.” Wes shoots back.

“And I sat you down and told you all about Erin.” Ella says.

Wes nods. “I still had my doubts but I see that she does exist.”

“Gee, thanks.” Erin rolls her eyes and goes over to the table. She pulls out the chair at the head of the table and sits down.

“Anyway. Here we are.” Ella goes over to the oven. “The whole purpose of tonight is for you guys to meet and to get past all that. Plus, I have to make last night up to Erin.”

“Did you get in trouble when you got home last night?” Wes teases.

Ella looks over her shoulder at him. “Yes. That’s way I’m cooking dinner. That’s why I’m all dressed up tonight, too.”

“You look very nice, babe.” Erin comments. “I forgot to mention that when I got home. I was distracted by food and then you distracted me with words and told me to get ready for dinner. But, yeah, you look absolutely amazing.”

“Thanks, hon.” Ella pulls the casserole out of the oven and brings it over to the table. “Sit, Wes.”

“Okay.” Wes feels a little uncomfortable now. He also feels put in his place. Ella has effectively, without having to do more than introduce him to her home, her girlfriend, sent a clear message. That he needs to be respectful and show his manners and be the perfect gentlemen. They’ve had a few conversations about the way people should be treated. Ella has reminded and shown him that maybe he hasn’t been treating people, women, with the respect they deserve.

Ella dishes up the casserole and Erin puts some salad on her plate and then Ella’s before handing the salad bowl over to Wes.

It’s a peaceful, uneventful dinner. Just the way Ella had wanted it. Erin is on her best behavior. She mostly just observes and keeps an eye on Wes and his actions and what he says. Ella keeps the conversation flowing, like usual.

After dinner, Ella asks Wes to stay for a beer. They three end up sitting on the couch, talking soccer. Erin’s had more to drink than she probably should have. She feels a little tipsy but goes to the fridge to get another beer.

Ella raises an eyebrow at Erin when she comes back with her fourth beer. Erin just shrugs and reclaims her spot next to Ella. Like, right next to her this time, though. Erin wraps her arm around Ella and pulls Ella into her side, displaying possessiveness/dominance to Wes.

Ella tries to keep the conversation flowing normally but Erin’s making that rather difficult. One, she’s a distraction. Two, Erin hands seems to have a mind of their own.

Wes gets the hint when Ella has to pause the conversation and whisper to Erin to ‘knock it off’. He might not be the perfect man but he definitely knows when to take a hint. “I think I’m gonna get going. I’ll see you on Monday, Ella. It was great meeting you, Erin.” Wes gets up and grabs up his coat, throwing it on quickly, and making his way to the door.

“You don’t have to go.” Ella tries pathetically to de-tangle from Erin’s touchy grasp.

“No.” Wes chuckles. “I have to go.” He looks over his shoulder, connecting eyes with Ella, and then nodding at Erin, who can’t keep her hands off of Ella. “Before I see something that I can’t forget.” Wes pulls the door open. He winks at Ella. “Goodnight.”

“Bye, Wes.” Erin says overly loudly.

“Bye.” Ella adds.

Wes disappears into the hall with a nod of the head.

* * *

 

“Are you ready for tomorrow?” Erin asks over dinner.

“Fuck yeah.” Ella smirks. She’s really excited that she’s getting an opportunity to play with the Canada Women’s National Team. Even if it is just training. Even if it is just to help them out. Ella knows it will be fun to be in that atmosphere again with all that talent.

“And there aren’t going to be any problems?” Erin asks. Ella looks over at Erin with furrowed brow. “No jealousy or fights?”

Ella takes a deep breath and sets her silverware down. She’s knows why Erin is bringing this up. She knows it’s been an issue in the past. Ella knows that and she knows it’s a concern of Erin’s. She knows Erin doesn’t want anything happening, especially at an official training session. But, Ella thinks about it and knows for sure that it won’t be a problem. “It won’t be a problem.” Ella says.

“You’re sure?” Erin asks.

“Erin, you want to know why I know it won’t be a problem.” Ella raises an eyebrow.

Erin frowns. “Why?”

“Because I’m here. I’m living here with you. I’m with you. It’s not a competition - but I have you.” Ella smirks smugly. “And because I’m over it. All that petty jealous bullshit, I’m over it. I’ve realized that since I’ve been here. You wanna know what else?” Erin grins and nods vigorously, liking what she hears from Ella. “Because I love you and love you me. Right?” Ella asks.

Erin’s grin grows bigger. “Right. I love you, babe.”

Ella nods. “And I’m secure with that. Confident in that. I’ve loved you for a long time. Longer than you probably realize.” Ella wiggles her eyebrows.

“What? Really?” Erin is slightly confused.

Ella takes a deep breath. “Yeah.” She moves from her chair at the table and goes over to Erin and sits sideways on her lap. “I think I’ve loved you since shortly after we met last year.”

Erin wraps her arms securely around Ella’s waist. “For real?”

“Yep.” Ella nods.

“Like when? Before we were like - whatever we were doing?” Erin asks.

Ella nods. “Before we were dating. Before we were hanging out all the time. Before Carm got traded. Before you broke up with your ex.”

“Woah.” Erin stares at Ella.

“Yep.” Ella subconsciously wraps her left palm around the back of Erin’s neck, rubbing the skin there gently. “That’s where my jealousy issues started. Because, well, I think you know why now.” Ella shrugs. “I was secretly in love with you and you were with her. Bam. Jealous. As bad as that sounds.”

Erin shakes her head. “You can’t help how you feel.”

“Oh, I know.” Ella chuckles. “Believe me. I know that. I tried not to feel it for a long time. To push it down. To try and run away from it.”

“How’d that work out for you?” Erin asks sassily and then bites her lip.

Ella smiles. “Then? Or now?”

“Both?” Erin shrugs.

“Then- not so well. But-“ Ella brings her right hand to Erin’s cheek. “-now-“ She leans in and kisses Erin. “-great.”

Erin hums into the kiss. Ella makes sure she kisses Erin with everything she’s got. She puts everything into their kisses. Ella’s hands have a mind of their own and start to wander Erin’s upper body. Things get a little heated and handsy right there at the table.

“What’s gotten into you lately?” Erin asks when she pulls away for air.

Ella licks her lips. “We’re living alone next season.” She dives in for another kiss. “No roommates.”

Erin chuckles. “Okay.” Ella pulls Erin in for another sultry kiss. “Seriously though?” Erin mumbles when there’s a break.

Ella shrugs. “With my surgery- it’s been a long time. And now- we live alone and don’t have any roommates to worry about.” Ella eyes Erin up and down hungrily.

Erin smirks. “I see.” She says. “Well, in that case-“ She pats at Ella’s lower back. “-up.” Erin has every intent to take their activities to a more comfortable setting then the chair at the dining room table.


	41. Chapter 41

Erin gets some time off before the team goes to train in California. She uses part of that time to go visit her sister’s family and spend some much needed time with her niece and nephew. Ella takes the time while Erin is gone to go visit her family too for Halloween.

Erin is still out of town but Ella has an idea about how she wants to spend her day. She has plans with Wes to hit some balls but Ella thinks about inviting someone else to join them. And with the National Team off, Ella knows that it’s almost a go before she even asks. She scrolls through her contacts on her phone before she finds the one she wants and hits the call button.

Ella puts another spoonful of cereal into her mouth as the phone rings.

“Hello.”

“Hi.” Ella says around her food. “What are you doing today?”

“I need to go grocery shopping but other than that not much. Why?”

“So you’ll meet me down at the field?”

“You’re back?”

Ella chuckles. “You know I can stay away from here for too long, Carm. I got back last night.”

Carm scoffs. “And where’s the old ball and chain?”

“Don’t call her that.” Ella scolds. “She’ll be back tomorrow. Then we’re going away for the weekend.”

“Ohhhhh.” Carm coos.

“Just come down to the field at 10. You know which one.” Ella says.

“Fine.” Carm fake groans, as if she doesn’t want to go.

“It’ll be fun.” Ella grins. She’s excited to hang out with Carm and get in a workout and some soccer too.

Ella makes sure she is at the field before Wes. He arrives shortly after her. “Hey, I’m just setting a few things up. Can you finish? I actually invited someone to come hit some balls with us.”

“Oh.” Wes raises an eyebrow.

“A friend of mine.” Ella nods. “I’m gonna go wait for her.” Ella leaves Wes by the goal and jogs out to the parking lot. She looks down at her watch. It’s five minutes after ten. “She’s late.” Ella sits on one of the cement curb-stops in a vacant parking space and waits. It’s not a minute after she sits down that Carm pulls into the parking lot with her car.

Ella stands up and goes over to where Carm parked. “You’re late.”

“Shut it. Mickey was taking his sweet ass time going to the bathroom, then he didn’t want to go back inside.” Carm explains why she’s late. “So, what kind of shenanigans are you trying to rope me into today.”

“No roping. No shenanigans. Just a little footy.” Ella grins. “Let’s go.” Carm follows Ella into the field. “Wes, get your butt over here.” Wes looks over at the sound of Ella’s voice. He jogs over as Ella and Carm approach him. “This is my friend, Carm. Carm, this is Wesley. He and I coach soccer together.”

“Not together. We coach different teams. Just at the same place.” Wes clarifies. “You can call me Wes.” He extends his hand to Carm. “No one calls me Wesley. Well, except my mom.”

“Sounds like Ella does.” Carm smirks and looks over at Ella. Ella just shrugs.

“She’s just messing.” Wes looks in Ella’s direction too. “How do you guys know each other? Did you meet here?”

“Noooo.” Carm shakes her head. “This awkward human and I played on the same team in Chicago for a while. I knew Ella before that but we don’t need to go into detail.”

“And what brings you here?” Wes asks.

“Carm-“ Ella starts but Carm cuts her off.

Carm smirks. “I live here. In Vancouver. Didn’t she tell you?” Wes shakes his head and Carm rolls her eyes.

“So, you’re a Canadian?” Wes asks.

Carm nods. “Proudly so.”

“How many Canadians do you know?” Wes asks Ella.

“Well-“ Ella looks between Carm and Wes. “-there’s Zurrer. She was probably my first Canadian friend. And Carm. And Erin. And like Erin’s family and friends. I don’t know.” Ella shrugs.

“And, like, all of the National Team.” Carm adds. “She’s got a thing for Canadians. Don’t cha Ella?”

“I guess.” Ella shrugs again.

Wes chuckles. “Am I your only American friend?”

“In Vancouver? Probably.” Ella smiles. “Let’s get to work.” She shifts the attention off of herself.

“I’m teaching Ella how to properly shoot the ball.” Wes whispers to Carm.

“She doesn’t know how to shoot? She’s a forward.” Carm questions.

“Nope. Not properly.” Wes says.

“Shut up, Wes.” Ella can hear everything they are saying, literally, behind her back.

Carm and Wes chuckle. “Let’s see what ya got, buddy.” Carm says.

* * *

 

Ella is unpacking her bag in the bedroom of the cabin in the woods that she has rented for the weekend. Just taking a few things out and then she plans on taking Erin out to dinner. Erin is check out the place. Ella looked it up online and saw pictures of all the rooms. It’s nice, cozy, with a fireplace and a fully stocked kitchen. Perfect for a weekend getaway.

Erin slips into the bedroom and slides up behind Ella, wrapping her arms tightly around Ella. “This place is amazing.” Erin whispers in Ella’s ear.

“You like it.” Ella puts her palms on Erin’s arms that are around her waist.

“I love it. I love you.” Erin leans down and presses her lips to the side of Ella’s neck.

“I love you, Erin.” Ella sighs. “Can you believe we’ve been together a year?”

Erin nods. Her lips brushing over Ella’s skin lightly. “Officially. And yes and no. On one hand, it seems like it hasn’t been that long and on the other, it feels like it’s been forever that I’ve been with you.”

Ella grins. “Officially, you’ve been putting up with me for a year. Unofficially, like a year and a half.” She mentions.

Erin chuckles. “You got that right.” She loosens her grip on Ella and Ella spins around in Erin’s arms. They meet for a kiss. “I wouldn’t want it any other way. I wouldn’t want to have to put up with anyone else but you.”

Ella giggles. “How romantic.”

“You know I’m not the most romantic. You’re more of a romantic than I am.” Erin says with a frown.

Ella nods. “That’s probably true. That’s why I planned all of this and not you.”

“I’ve been busy.” Erin whines in protest.

“I know. I know.” Ella pats at Erin’s sides. “Why don’t you bring your bag in and unpack it and then we’ll go out to dinner.”

“Dinner?” Erin says in a little, high pitched voice.

“Yeah. Dinner.” Ella slips her head underneath the back of Erin’s shirt, stroking over the skin of her lower back. “And then we can get some groceries and then come back here. Maybe sit in front of the fire for a while. Have some wine. That sort of thing. What do ya say?” Ella asks.

“That sounds good to me.” Erin leans in for a kiss.

Ella smacks Erin’s ass. “Go get your bag. Unpack.”

* * *

 

“Ella, I fucking love you.” Erin sighs happily.

It’s not usual for Erin to curse. Ella smirks. “You fucking love me or you love fucking me?”

Erin smirks. “Both.” She kisses Ella tenderly. “Can I run something by you?” Erin asks.

“Sure.”

“I don’t know much about the future but I’ve definitely been thinking about it a lot lately. My place is kinda small. I mean, it’s just a one bedroom apartment. I don’t know what the future holds but I think it might be a good idea to get a bigger place.” Erin says what she’s been thinking about.

“Oh? What else?” Ella knows there’s more in Erin’s head. She’s probably got some sort of big master plan. Erin tends to overthink things, after all.

“I want you with me.” Erin says shyly. “That might sound selfish but- whatever.” Erin shrugs. “I want to look at getting a bigger place and I want you to be part of that. A place for-“ Erin hesitates.

“For us.” Ella finishes Erin’s thought.

Erin smiles. It’s a tiny, small smile at first but it grows bigger and bigger. “Yeah. I wanna get a bigger place for us to live. Before we go to Houston. I’m gonna be super busy with the World Cup next year. I want to do it before things get crazy.”

“Alright.” Ella kisses Erin’s forehead.

“That’s it? Alright.” Erin questions.

Ella shrugs. “Yeah. Alright. I like the idea. It’s logical. If you’re gonna do it, do it now. In the next couple of months. Before March. Makes sense.”

“And what about the rest? Looking for a place? Moving? Living here in the future?” Erin asks.

“What about it?” Ella wonders. “It’s gonna be exciting.”

“So, you’re all in?” Erin asks.

“I’m all in. For everything. Anything you wanna do, I’m in.” Ella says.

“Anything?” Erin raises an eyebrow. Ella shrugs. “What about- like-“ Erin thinks of something specific, to test the waters. “-getting married.”

Ella furrows her brow together. She’s quiet and doesn’t give Erin a response.

“I guess not anything then.” Erin mumbles. A little part of her new what the answer would be and she got exactly what she thought. It makes her a little sad but she knows that’s Ella and that’s alright for now.

Erin sits up. She pulls the sheet with her. “I’m gonna get breakfast started.” She says. “You wanna help or are you gonna stay in here for a little bit yet?”

“We’ve only been together a year.” Ella says in reply.

Erin stops removing herself from bed. She turns to glance over at Ella. “Yes. And?” Erin tries to prompt Ella to use her words and not speak in Ella speak.

“We can’t get married, we’ve only been together a year.” Ella says in a sort of trance. “And it’s not like we can anyway.” She stares across the room at the wall.

“Why?” Erin asks curiously.

“It’s not legal.” Ella mumbles. “Our love is illegal.” Ella has thought about this before. She’s thought about it a lot in the last year or so. She knows the battle that’s going on in the United States over gay marriage. She’s thought about it long and hard. She had to. Ella had to search herself and her soul as to the right and the wrongs about the same thing that the courts and people are fighting over in the US.

Erin’s lips curl upward into the slightest smile on one side. “Not here, babe.” She tells Ella.

Ella finally looks over at Erin. “What?”

“Gay marriage- Marriage has been legal here in Canada since 2005.” Erin informs.

“Oh.” Realization strikes Ella. She definitely didn’t know that. The new information doesn’t change anything though. “We’ve only been together a year.” Ella states her point again.

“I know. And it’s been a wonderful year. But, I know. I was mostly kidding. Now is not the time to get married. I’m too busy.” Erin makes an excuse. “I was just joking. You said you’d do anything. But, not that, I guess.”

“I don’t- I can’t-“ Ella mumbles.

“I know. It’s just selfish talk of me. It’s just me wanting things but not taking the appropriate steps to get those things. It’s probably my poorest quality. Selfishness and not thinking how my actions could affect others.” Erin reaches for Ella’s hand. “It’s alright. I’m good, if you are.” Ella nods and squeezes Erin’s hand. “I’m going to go start breakfast. Are you coming? Erin asks.

“I’m going to need a minute but I’ll be there.”

Erin leans across the bed, closing the distance between them and pressing her lips to Ella’s cheek. She gets up and puts some clothes on and exit the bedroom for the kitchen.

Ella comes out a few minutes later in one of Erin’s sweatshirts and a pair of sweatpants.

“So, what’s on tap for today?” Erin asks. Ella’s the one who planed this weekend. She wants to know the agenda.

“Maybe- someday- we can get married.” Ella looks to Erin with hopeful eyes.

Erin closes her eyes, a simple tight-lipped smile on her lips, and nods. She knows she freaked Ella out a little. “Okay.” She waves Ella over, holding out her arms. Erin pulls Ella into her side. “What are we doing today?” She asks and then kisses Ella’s temple.

* * *

 

“Today was great.” Erin says as they sit in a chair in front of the fire.

“I’ll agree with that.” Ella sips her hot chocolate as she sits sideways in the chair on Erin’s lap with her legs hanging over the arm of the chair.

“Happy One Year.” Erin kisses Ella’s cheek.

“Happy One Year, Erin.” Ella replay the last year in her mind. “Thank you for loving me in that special way that you do. I know I don’t always make it easy. But it’s truly been a great year. It’s been interesting and I’ve learned so much. About myself, about you, about how to give and receive love. I’ve grown so much over the last year and a half. And you’ve been a large part in all of that. I’m a better person because of you. You make me a better person. You make me want to be a better person every day. Some days it’s hard but others it easy. You make it easy. There are difficult days and frustrating days but you make those days better. Everything is better when I’m with you. I love you, Erin, so much.” Ella tears up a little. She wipes at the corners of her eyes so the tears don’t fall.

“Aww, baby. Don’t cry.” Erin hugs Ella tight to her. “I love you, Ella. You mean so much to me. I may have started out slow but it didn’t take me long to catch up. The way you treat me has blown my mind. I’ve never had someone pay so much attention to me and ALL the things I’m doing and that are going on in my life. You are truly a part of everything that I do. You are the reason behind everything that I do.”

“Really?” Ella can’t believe that.

“Really. Really. You’re like a gift. I couldn’t dream up a more perfect match for me. Even with some of our differences.” Erin smiles. “You are all my reasons. You’re my everything.” Erin leans in for a kiss which Ella meets her for and sighs into. One little kiss turns into another and another and Ella wraps her hand around the back of Erin’s head and their kisses turn heated.

After a couple of minutes Ella gets off of Erin’s lap.

“Where are you going?” Erin asks with disappointment.

Ella bends at the waist and kisses Erin quickly. “I’ll be right back. You get the fire going good, burning nice and hot. I wanna do something.”

Erin watches Ella disappear into the hallway. She gets up and stoke the fire. Erin puts another log on the flames and before she’s done with that Ella has returned. She is carrying a pillow and two blankets. “Are those off the bed?” Erin questions.

“No.” Ella shakes her head. “I found them in the closet. Spares.” Ella lays one blanket down on the floor, nice and flat, directly in front of the fire. She puts the pillow to one side before covering the first blanket with the second.

“Oh.” Erin mumbles. She sees what Ella is up to. “You really are the romantic, fairytale one, aren’t you?” Erin grins. She steps up to Ella and puts her hands on Ella’s hips. “Always thinking of something extra, something special.” Erin leans in for a slow, drawn out kiss.

“Don’t discredit yourself. You’re not too shabby of a planner, Ms. McLeod.” Ella smiles and wiggles her eyebrows at Erin .

“Okay.” Erin shakes her head goofily from side to side.

“Now take your clothes off.” Ella says.

Erin laughs. “Straight to the point, eh.”

“Shut up.” Ella takes a step back from Erin and pulls her shirt over her head and starts taking her pants off. Erin watches for a moment before she feels overly dressed and follows Ella’s lead. Once Ella is down to just undergarments she sits down on her makeshift bed and covers herself with the top blanket. Erin joins her seconds later.

* * *

 

Erin lays on her side, propped up by her elbow, hovering above Ella. She brushes back Ella’s hair. The woman beneath absolutely beautiful in the low light from the fire that is glowing a few feet from where they lay.

“I know we just talked about it this morning but I’ve been thinking about it all day. What’s your ideal timeline?” Ella looks up and gazes into Erin’s dark brown eyes.

Erin bites her lower lip between her teeth. “Well, before I would leave for Cyprus. But, I don’t want to wait that long. After I get back from California at the end of the month maybe. I’ll have most of December off.”

“That sounds good.” Ella thinks about what Erin said. It’s quite in the room as they both think of the logistics of everything.

“Or.” Erin whispers, getting Ella’s attention again. “I could, we could, contact a realtor now and then while I’m gone you can start looking.”

Ella raises both of her eyebrows. “Wow. Really?”

Erin shrugs. “Why not? You could search online first. See if the realtor knows anything good and in our price range and where to start. If you see something that I like while I’m gone I could look it up and get a look that way. Then, when I get back we can visit a few places. I don’t know, is that a good idea?”

Ella rolls onto her side, into Erin’s body, kissing her swiftly and wrapping her arms around Erin tightly. “That sounds great. This is really happening, isn’t it.”

Erin chuckles. “Yeah, it is.”

“I’m gonna have a home.” Ella says a little misty eyed.

“Yeah, babe.” Erin rubs her hands up and down Ella’s back.

“I’ve been like a nomad for so many years.” Ella mumbles into Erin’s ear.

Erin laughs. “That might be true.”

Ella nods and yawns. “Tired.”

“Then let’s go to bed so we can enjoy our last morning here well rested before we go home tomorrow.” Erin says and starts to get up. She takes the blanket that is cover them with her.

Ella whines as the cool air hit her bare skin. She gets up quickly, taking the blanket that was covering the floor and wrapping it around her body. “I’ve never had so much sex in my life.”

“What?” Erin wrinkles her nose up at Ella.

“Like- in a 24 hour period.” Ella explains. “Last night after dinner, this morning, now.”

Erin holds out her hand and Ella takes it and she leads them to the bedroom. “Me neither.” Erin confesses. “We could make it four before we go to sleep.” Erin looks over her shoulder and wiggles her eyebrows at Ella.

Ella, in turn, bites her lip. Smirking, she gives Erin a tiny nod.

* * *

 

Erin is looking for the things they will need to go to the soccer field and can’t find her bag of soccer balls. They’re not in the closet where they are usually kept. She knows Ella has been using them for her training with Wes while she’s been away. Ella is in the bedroom getting ready so Erin yells. “Ella, where are my balls?” Erin starts walking towards the bedroom.

Ella heard Erin and is busy chuckling. “What, dear?” Ella asks when Erin enter the room.

“Where are my balls? I know you were playing with them.”

Ella doubles over in laughter. “You make it too easy.” She mumbles.

Erin rolls her eyes. “Very childish.”

“Oh, I can’t help it.” Ella straightens up and looks at Erin

“That’s cuz your mind’s always in the gutter.” Erin frowns.

“I have them.” Ella smirks. “Don’t worry, I kept your balls safe while you were gone. They’re already in the car.” Ella closes the small distance between herself and Erin. She puts her hand on Erin’s arm and leans in to kiss her cheek. “And thanks for the laugh. Ready?”

Erin nods. “Let’s go.”

“Good. And I can’t wait to kick _your_ balls at you.” Ella chuckles.

Erin knows Ella’s going to be giving her crap about this all day.

* * *

 

The plane lands in Chicago in the evening. Ella is excited to be back in Chicago to spend some time before Christmas. She can’t wait to see her family and especially the two newest babies in the family.

“You wanna get something to eat here?” Erin asks.

Ella kind of wanted to go straight to her brother’s house. She’s also kind of hungry. She told Tyson that they would find their way to the house themselves and that he didn’t have to pick them up at the airport. So they don’t have anyone waiting on them. “Sure.” They’ll have to eat before they get to Tyson’s anyway. It’s after dinner time and she doesn’t want to have to bother her brother or his wife about food.

“Or-“ Erin bumps into Ella’s shoulder with her own. “-we could stop somewhere on the way. Any ideas?”

Ella just wants to eat quickly and doesn’t want to go to a sit down restaurant. “Can we just eat here?”

Erin furrows her brow. “Sure thing.” She wonders why Ella might want to eat airport food but doesn’t question it.

Ella picks a little café in the terminal and they get some food and sit down to eat quickly. After, they get a cab and Ella gives the cabbie the address. Outside Tyson’s house Ella pays the cab driver while Erin gets the bags out.

By the time Ella is finished with the driver, Tyson is standing out on his front steps. Ella turns around and spots him right away.

“Baby sis.” He yells and holds his arms out.

Ella runs over to her brother and wraps him in a tight hug. They release their hug and Tyson points over at Erin as she struggles up the sidewalk with three luggage bags. “You just gonna make her handle all that by herself.” Tyson comments.

Ella rolls her eyes. She descends the steps and takes her own bag, leaving Erin just with her own bag and their carry-on. Ella comes back to Tyson, to the door. “Where’s baby Grey?”

Tyson grins, knowing that would be one of Ella’s first requests. “In the house with Megan. Go in, I’ll help Erin.”

Ella rolls her eyes again. It hasn’t even been five minutes and her brother has already given her a ton of shit.

Erin comes up to the step. She puts her bag down and embraces Tyson. “How have you been?” She asks.

“Great.” Tyson says. “And you? How was the flight?”

“I’m good. The flight was alright, except someone wouldn’t sit still the entire time.” Erin jokes.

“I’m sure she’s excited.” Tyson says.

“She is and I am too. Can I get inside? It’s kinda cold out here.” Erin winks. Tyson chuckles and they both head inside the warm house.

They find Ella in the living room, sitting on the couch, with the baby in her arms. “Found ‘em.” Tyson says when he rounds the corner into the living room.

“Hey, Megan.” Erin gives her a little wave. “Did she steal your baby from you?” Erin chuckles.

“Something like that. Have a seat.” Megan points over to the spot on the couch next to Ella.

Erin drops her bag and has a seat. She looks in on the baby. She’s seen pictures, and Ella’s talked about her, and there have been video chats, but this is the first time Erin is seeing baby Grey in person. “What a cutie.” Erin smiles.

“So, how’s training going?” Tyson asks Erin.

Erin talks about the things that the Canadians are working on. She goes over the games that they played in California in November too. Erin keeps the conversation going with Tyson and Megan as Ella just sits there staring down at the baby in amazement.

“Ella said you guys were buying a house.” Tyson says.

Erin looks over at Ella. “We were gonna wait til everyone was together to tell you but we signed the papers a week ago. It’s a done deal.”

“Wow, congrats you two.” Megan says. “That’s so cool.”

“You have to act surprised when we tell the rest of the family.” Ella finally says something.

Everyone chuckles. “That won’t be too hard.” Tyson says.

The baby let’s out a super big yawn. “Aww, she’s so adorable.” Ella mumbles quietly. She’s been mostly silent while Erin visit with Ella’s brother and sister in law. It’s the only time Ella has ever really been silent. When there is a new baby in the family. Even though Ella met her at Halloween, she still can’t get enough of the baby.

“Are you in a trance?” Tyson asks, teasing his sister.

Ella looks up from the baby and across the room where her brother stands next to his wife, Megan. She sits in the rocking chair that they got for the baby. Ella didn’t quite hear what he said and doesn’t reply. She’s been too focused on baby Grey.

Tyson laughs. “Nevermind. Can I get you guys something to drink?”

“Water, please.” Erin says with a smile. Ella looks back down at the baby and shakes her head.

Tyson leaves the room and Erin takes the opportunity to lean into Ella’s side. “You’re gonna be a great mom.” Erin whispers in Ella’s ear and kisses her cheek.

Ella takes her attention off of the baby to glance up at Erin. Except, it’s more than just a glance. It’s pure, unadulterated joy and bliss on Ella’s face. Erin wiggles her eyebrows and then looks down at the baby. She reaches out and tickles the baby’s stomach. The baby wiggles a little in response. Ella watches on as Erin pays attention to the small child in her arms. She feels like she just feel in love with Erin all over again. Her heart feels so big with so many emotions running through her body. Ella takes a deep breath and exhales softly. This is what it’s all about. Life, love, happiness. Right here, right now. Holding a new baby in her arm, with family, and with her love.

Tyson comes back in and interrupts the moment with a water for Erin. “Here’s your water.” He holds out the glass of water for Erin to take.

“Thanks.” Erin says and takes a sip before setting both down on the little coffee table in front of the couch.

“We caught up with Erin but what have you been up to Ella?” Megan asks.

“Training.” Ella mumbles, looking down at the baby again.

Usually she would give a more involved answer and they all know it. Ella’s a bit distracted. Tyson chuckles. “Good luck getting anything else out of her while she’s holding the baby.”

Erin chuckles. “I think I’m gonna head off to bed. Where will we be staying?”

“In the spare room. Here, I’ll lead the way.” Tyson says and grabs Ella and Erin’s bags.

Erin gets up from the couch, taking her water with her. “You gonna hold that baby all night or are you coming to bed at some point?”

“Can I put her in her crib for the night?” Ella asks Megan. Megan nods. “I’ll be there in a little bit.” Ella tells Erin.

“Okay.” Erin says and follows Tyson down the hall.

Erin unpacks some things after Tyson show her the room they will be staying in for the next couple of days. She changes and goes to the bathroom to brush her teeth and get ready for bed, then goes back to the bedroom.

“Jesus, you scared me.” Erin holds her hand to her chest in fright. “Why are you standing there?” Erin asks of Ella’s suspicious position.

“I didn’t want you to see me through the door right away.” Ella steps up to Erin and takes her hand.

Erin furrows her brow. “What are you doing?”

“Put your toothbrush away.” Ella says.

“Aren’t you going to get ready for bed?” Erin asks Ella.

“I will but not right now. Come.” Erin pulls at Erin’s hand.

Erin quickly put her toothbrush down on top of her bag. “What’s going on Ella? Why are you acting all weird?”

“Come lay down with me.” Ella requests. Erin does as Ella asks. They lay in the bed facing each other.

“Take your hair down.” Erin says.

Ella reaches behind her head and pulls her hair tie out of her hair. Erin reaches up and runs her fingers through Ella’s hair. Ella automatically closes her eyes at the soothing feeling.

“I love her.” Ella sighs. The feeling off Erin’s fingers running through her hair, scraping against her scalp occasionally is one of her favorite thing.

“Grey?” Erin whispers and Ella nods. “Yeah, she’s pretty cute.” Erin says.

“Do you really think I’d be a good mom?” Ella gets to the reason why she wanted to lay with Erin.

Erin smiles. “The best.” She stops running her fingers through Ella’s hair and puts her palm on Ella’s cheek. “What are you thinking, baby?”

Ella opens her eyes and stares into Erin’s. “I don’t know if I’d be a good mom. Look at my mom.” Ella mumbles. There’s this doubt in her head. There’s also a fear there.

“I think you turned out alright despite the situation you were in. Your mom- your parents did the best they could with what they had.” Erin tries to soothe Ella’s worry.

“What if I mess my kids up or something? What if I can’t give them what they want or need? What if- what if-“ Ella shakes her head. She doesn’t want to say it, she can’t say it.

“What, Ella? Tell me.” Erin rubs her hand up and down Ella’s arm.

This isn’t want she wanted to talk to Erin about but that doubt, that fear crept in and took over. Ella takes a deep breath. “What if- I end up like my mom? Crazy.” Ella usually avoids using that word in reference to her mother but right now that’s all she’s thinking.

Erin bites her lip. That’s a scary thought. A scary question. And Erin needs to have the perfect answer. “Ella, you’re going to be a great mom. I know it. I see the way you are with kids. And they aren’t even your kids. All kids really need is your love and attention and for you to be there for them. They want someone who they can count on.”

“And what if I can’t be there for them. My mom, she was there, but she wasn’t. She had four kids and- and- my parents they-“ Ella closes her eyes and hides her face in the pillow.

Erin wraps her arm around Ella and pulls her to her chest. She kisses Ella’s forehead. “You’re not your mom. Or your dad. I’m not your dad. We’re not your parents. I don’t know much about their story yet but we are not them. This is our story and it’s not the same.” Erin tries to make that clear to Ella. They don’t talk about it much- because Ella doesn’t want to talk about it- but her parent’s issues and them divorcing has had lasting and permanent effects on Ella.

“And if something were to happened you’d get through it. You’d get the help you need so you could be the best mom possible. And I’d be there every step of the way. Please, don’t worry about this, babe. This isn’t anything, Ella. It’s not something that’s real. You’re going to be a great mom. Our kids are going to love you to death. You’re going to spend so much time with them and be there for every event that they have. Heck, you’ll probably that mom that’s yelling on the sidelines at their soccer games or something. Or you’ll be their soccer coach.”

Ella smiles a little. She knows she was getting carried away. But Ella also knows that it’s a possibility that something could happen and that mental illness is in her family. “So, you still wanna have babies with me?” Ella mumbles.

Erin sits back a little so she can see Ella’s face. “Of course, that’s why we bought a house. So we could put babies in it one day.”

That makes Ella laugh. “God, I love you.” Ella kisses Erin hard. “Thank you for talking some sense into me.”

“Sure. Can you do something for me though?” Erin asks and Ella nods. “Can you try not to worry about something that probably won’t happen and about things that you have no control over. We can’t predict the future. Live in the here and now. Focus on what’s happening in our lives today and just be happy.”

Ella nods. “Thanks, honey. Sometimes I just go so caught up on a specific thing and I get carried away.”

“Anytime. And Ella?” Erin raises an eyebrow. “One more thing.”

“What?”

Erin starts signing in a goofy voice and at first Ella doesn’t get it but eventually Ella realizes that it’s a silly Jamaican voice that Erin is using. “Don’t worry, be happy. In every life, we have some trouble. But when you worry, you make it double. Don't worry, be happy. Don't worry, be happy.” Erin sings part of the first verse from the song Don’t Worry, Be Happy.

Ella smiles and giggles happily. Erin always knows just the right thing to say and the right thing to do to put her in a better mood. “Do you know more?”

Erin shakes her head. “Not really but I love you, babe.” Erin winks. “You feeling better now?”

Ella nods. “Yeah. And baby Grey, I’m in love. I can’t wait to have babies with you.”

“I know.” Erin kisses Ella’s forehead. “You wanna go get ready for bed and come back and we can talk more about this.”

Ella grins and nods. “I love you.” She gets out of bed and rushes off to the bathroom with a renewed sense of confidence in regards to babies and the future.


	42. Chapter 42

“So, we have to wear suits tonight?” Ella asks.

“Well, black jackets with white shirts underneath. You could probably get away with black dress pants or black jeans and not a full suit. What the Blues Brothers wore. You should know Ella, you’re from Chicago.” Cara says with a smirk. She knows Ella’s not from Chicago but she like to tease her about it.

“Not from Chicago. But I do know the attire.” Ella says. “I don’t know if I can rock that look though.”

This is where Erin’s pipes up. “I’m sure you can. You look good in just about everything. I’m sure you’ll be as smokin’ as usual. It doesn’t matter what you wear, baby, you always look amazing.”

Cara makes a gagging noise from the driver’s seat. She feels a bit ridiculous. She’s the driver for today’s little outing and her passengers decided to both sit in the back seat. Cara feels like a chauffeur driving around two love sick teenagers.

Ella lifts Erin’s hand to her lips and kisses the back of it. “Thanks, honey.”

* * *

 

Erin finds Ella about two hours into the party. She grabs Ella by the wrist and pulls her into the laundry room that’s just off the kitchen.

“What are we doing in here?” Ella looks around the small room, at the washer and dryer.

“Are you having a good time?” Erin asks.

Ella focuses her attention on Erin. She nods and smiles. “I am.”

“When can we leave?” Erin asks.

Ella furrows her brow at Erin. “What?” She wonders why Erin would want to leave so soon. They are only about halfway through the party. “Why?”

Ella gets a non-verbal response in return. Erin eye’s wander away from Ella’s face. Down her body slowly before they come back up and fixate on the tie that Ella is wearing. Erin reaches out and grabs the tie. She pulls Ella into her body, wrapping her arm around Ella’s back.

“Oh.” Ella gulps.

Erin smirks and locks eyes with Ella. “I never thought, I mean, I’ve thought but I never thought I’d see the day where you were wearing a suit and tie.” Erin eyes Ella hungrily. “It’s very sexy and incredibly hot.” Erin bites her lip.

“We have to stick around a little bit longer. But, if you can hold out a little bit longer I’ll be sure to make it worth the wait.” Ella licks her lips. “If you know what I mean.”

“Deal.” Erin mumbles. “But, don’t be surprised if I’m on the opposite side of the room from you. So I’m not tempted and so I can keep my hands to myself.”

Ella leans up on the tip-toes and presses a kiss to Erin’s lips. “Okay.” She goes to turn away to exit the laundry room but Erin doesn’t let go of the tie. “Erin.” Ella sighs and turns back to her.

“One more.” Erin leans in, ready for another kiss.

Ella complies and kisses Erin again. “No more until we get home.” Erin groans and rolls her eyes but releases Ella’s tie. “Let’s go before Cara gives up shit about being missing.” Ella wiggles her eyebrows.

* * *

 

“When I get back we can finish moving. Unless you want to do it while I’m gone.”

“I could have Wes help me.” Ella suggests.

“Whatever you want.” Erin kisses Ella’s cheek. They’re sitting on the couch, all cuddled up under the blanket, with Max at their feet. It’s the night before the team has to travel to China. “Ya know, I’m probably not going to be able to call or text while I’m there.”

Ella nods. She knows this. “It’ll be tough. We haven’t been apart since November. That was only like two weeks and we talked every day. I’m, for sure, gonna miss you like crazy.”

Erin chuckles. “November wasn’t that long ago. You make it sound like it was years ago.”

“It seems like it.” Ella shrugs.

“You better get used to it cuz we are going to be apart a lot in the next six months.” Erin reminds her.

Ella is optimistic about it. “We have phones and stuff. You’ll still be able to call me and talk, right?”

Erin shrugs. “I’m not sure about every day. But most days.” Erin lifts her hand to Ella’s cheek, swiping her thumb across Ella’s cheekbone softly.

Ella pouts. She doesn’t like the thought of not being able to talk to Erin some of the time, but she knows she can’t do anything about it. If Erin needs to train, or focus, or work out some sort of issue or problem then that’s going to be most important.

“I’m probably only going to be in Houston once or twice before the World Cup is over. Are you sure you still want us to live alone cuz that will be you living alone until like July. We could live with someone else like last year. That way someone will always be around. For when I’m not around.” Erin has been thinking about this for a couple of weeks now. They had planned on getting small apartment in Houston for the season but she doesn’t want to burden Ella or put her in a situation that she isn’t going to be happy with.

Ella doesn’t really like the idea of living with someone else. She wants to live with Erin and Erin only. She’s made that clear. “No, I want it to be just us, plus the girls will be around. I’ll be fine. I know you’re worried about me but I’ll have Steph, and K, and Mel, and B to badger me and keep me company.”

Erin nods. “Okay.” She says with resignation. “And you’re okay about moving in and moving all of our stuff. I could hire someone.”

Ella picks her head up and looks up into Erin’s eyes. “I’m a big girl, I can do it.”

Erin leans forward and kisses Ella swiftly. “I know you can but I want to make sure you’re okay with doing it.

“I got this.” Ella grins. “You just focus on playing and what you need to do for your team. I’ll take care of the rest.” Ella tells Erin with a proud smile.

“You’re the greatest. I love you.” Erin coos.

“I know I am.” Ella smirks.

Erin chuckles. “Little shit.” She mumbles and kisses Ella fiercely.

* * *

 

Ella looks at the photo that she made Cara take of them earlier in the day when they were watching the XGames. She’s lying in bed waiting for Erin to get back from brushing her teeth. Ella looks up from her phone when Erin appears in the bedroom door. “You really didn’t trust me, did you?” Ella asks.

Erin raises an eyebrow. “Hmm?” She goes over to the bed and slips in underneath the covers.

Ella shows Erin the picture. “You just had to hold onto me.” Ella teases lightly. At the time, she insisted that she was fine but Erin insisted that she be there in the photo too.

“I didn’t want anything to happen to you.” Erin admits.

“I have great balance. I was fine.” Ella tells Erin.

Erin frowns. “Well, I wasn’t convinced of that. You don’t know what could happen. I didn’t want you to fall. I would be devastated if something happened to you.” Erin says seriously.

Ella looks over at Erin with a straight face. She gets serious now that she hears the somber tone of Erin’s voice. “Nothing’s gonna happen to me. I promise I won’t go standing on anymore walls or ledges or anything I can fall off of that is more than five feet above the ground.”

Erin pouts. “Promise.”

Ella puts her phone down on the nightstand and holds her arms open. “Come here.” Erin scoots over and lays her head on Ella’s shoulder. Ella wraps her arms around Erin. “I promise.” Ella says and kisses Erin’s forehead.

“Good, cuz that’s one of my biggest fears.” Erin mumbles.

“What?”

“Something happening to you. I don’t think I could handle that.” Erin says as tears come to her eyes.

Ella pulls Erin tightly to her chest, wrapping her up in a tight embrace. She presses her lips to the top of Erin’s head. “Nothing’s going to happen to me. I’m not going anywhere.”

Erin nods lightly. “I don’t know what I would do without you.” She confesses. “I wanna marry you and spend the rest of my life with you.” Erin mumbles.

“Me too, honey. Me too.” Ella says with more little kisses all over Erin’s head and forehead and anywhere she can reach with her lips without disturbing their embrace.

Erin tries to pull back, pulling her head away from Ella’s chest. Ella loosens her grip and let’s Erin sit back a little. “Really?” Erin asks with a small hopeful smile.

Ella grins happily. “Yeah, you goofball.”

Erin sits up more, so her face is level with Ella’s. Her tears disappear immediately. “Cuz back on our anniversary you said you didn’t want to get married.”

Ella frowns, sad that she made Erin think that. “No, I never said I didn’t want to get married. I just wasn’t ready. To me, marriage means forever. And when that happens, I want to make 110% sure that it’s right, that we’re right, and that I’m ready.”

“Wow.” Erin looks at Ella with amazement. “So, what are you saying?”

Ella shrugs her shoulders the best she can with Erin leaning into the left one. “That I’m ready, I guess.”

Erin bites her lip, the wheels spinning in her head. “So, if I showed up tomorrow with a ring and asked you to marry me, you would say yes?”

Ella nods and Erin leans in for a sloppy kiss. Ella giggles into their kiss and Erin makes sure to kiss Ella silly. “Did I ever tell you how much I love you?” Erin asks.

Ella smiles slyly. “Only every day. I love you, Erin. And I want everything with you.”

“You make me the happiest girl on the entire planet.” Erin can’t resist kissing Ella again. “So, when are we getting married?” Erin asks.

Ella chuckles. She rubs her hand up and down Erin’s arm. “Don’t you think you have enough going on this year already.”

Erin shrugs and frowns. “Maybe.”

“Plus, I don’t see a ring on my finger yet. Cart before horse, Erin.” Ella teases.

Erin rolls her eyes. “Fine.” She grumbles. “We can wait, but I’d marry you tomorrow if I could.”

Ella smiles and kisses the tip of Erin’s nose. “I’m busy tomorrow. I have training.” She jokes.

“What about the next day?” Erin asks with a goofy grin.

Ella laughs heartily. “I love you but not now. There’s too much going on. And, I don’t want to just go down to the courthouse or whatever. Plus, there’s no ring.” Ella says again. She wiggles her ring finger in front of Erin’s face for emphasis.

“Yeah, yeah. Ring-schming.” Erin mumbles.

“Hey, now.” Ella says. “Don’t knock the ring. You jealous? You want one too?”

Erin shakes her head. “No. No. No. No. You get the ring, baby. All you.”

“But, you’ll wear a wedding ring, right?” Ella wonders out loud.

“When that day comes, I will.” Erin confirms. “Proudly so.” Erin leans into Ella for slow kiss. “I love you, babe.” Erin whispers afterwards.

“Mmm.” Ella hums and licks her lips. “Me too. I’ve never loved anyone the way that I love you.”

Erin nods and slips down a little in bed, cuddling into Ella’s side, wrapping her arm over Ella’s waist, and resting her head on her chest just underneath Ella’s chin. Ella presses a kiss to the top of Erin’s head. “It’s the greatest feeling in the world. Love.” Erin mumbles.

“It is. It is.” Ella agrees. Erin yawns, tired and content, happy, and all cuddled up where she needs to be. “Are you sleepy?” Ella asks and Erin nods. “Close your eyes, honey. Get some rest.” Ella knows Erin needs it. The National team has been training like crazy, preparing for the Cyprus Cup and preparing for the whole upcoming year, really. They train or study every weekday in some form or another. Only the weekends do they get time off. Erin has another full training day tomorrow. “Goodnight, babe.” Ella whispers.

“Goodnight, beautiful.” Erin mumbles back.

* * *

 

Ella is sitting on the couch, Max on her lap, reading her most recent book. Erin is sitting on the floor with a giant piece of poster board in front of her, working on her latest creation. She has paints to her right and brushes and cloth to her left. Erin turned on her ‘art playlist’ from her computer that sits in front of her that she set, in front of the poster board, before she sat down and got started.

Ella sets her book down in her lap and sighs loudly. She looks over at Erin and all that she is doing and the art supplies littered across the floor. She takes a second look before lifting her book back up again to continue reading.

That only last a few minutes though. Erin starts humming along to the song that is currently playing. Ella puts her book down again and looks over at Erin. “Can you turn that off? It’s super annoying.” Ella grumbles.

Erin scrunches up her face and looks over her left shoulder towards Ella. She wonders what’s up with Ella. Usually, music doesn’t bother Ella. “Sure.” Erin says and reaches over to stop the music. Silence fills the room. Erin glances over at Ella once the music has stopped. “Better?” Erin asks.

Ella narrows her eyes. “Yeah.” She mumbles and goes back to reading her book.

* * *

 

Ella gets up that night to go to the bathroom. She gets out of bed and shuffles her way to the bedroom door. “Mmmmm, fuck.” Ella mumbles under her breath as she hops up and down on one foot, holding the other in her hand. The two littlest toes on her left foot throbbing in pain. Ella hops out of the room and closes the bedroom door. “Fucking son of a bitch.” She says a little louder once she’s in the hallway. Ella goes into the bathroom and turns the light on and pulls the sock off her foot. Her toes are red but there’s no blood and Ella knows they’re not broken. She’ll be fine but her toes fucking hurt.

She uses the restroom and shuts the light off again. Ella waits til her eyes adjust to the darkness. She’s not going to repeat what just happened. Ella enters the bedroom again and spots the culprit. Erin’s art easel is laying on the floor right next to the bedroom door.

Ella gets back in bed and smack Erin’s shoulder with the back of her hand. Erin jolts awake. “What’s happening? Are you alright?” Erin mumbles sleepily and looks around the room, her eyes resting lastly on Ella.

Ella gets comfy in bed again. “You left your shit laying on the floor and I nearly broke my foot tripping over it.” Ella grumbles.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry.” Erin apologizes. “Are you okay?” She asks with concern.

“Just pick up your shit when you’re done with it. Don’t leave it laying around.” Ella tells Erin and rolls onto her side, facing away from Erin.

Erin frowns at Ella’s crabbiness. She doesn’t want to poke the bear and make it worse. “Sorry, babe. It won’t happen again.”

“Ok, I’m going back to sleep now.” Ella says somewhat rudely.

Erin lays down on her back again and stares up at the ceiling. She honestly forgot to pick up the easel but she thought it was out of the way enough. Erin actually thinks about it for a few minutes, thinking that she will do it in the morning. But, then thinks she doesn’t want anyone to get hurt so she gets out of bed and, in the dark, moves the easel and a few other things that are on the floor by the door.

Erin is making breakfast the next morning when Ella graces the world with her presence. “Morning, baby.” Erin coos in Ella’s direction.

“Morning.” Ella mumbles and goes to sit at the table as she scrolls through her phone.

Erin sighs. The crabby mood that Ella was in yesterday, and last night, still seems to be with her. “What are you up to today?”

“I have a session at Fortius and then Wes and I are hanging out this afternoon.” Ella tells Erin.

Erin brings two plates over to the table. She set one down in front of Ella and the other at the place next to her. Erin leans in for her morning kiss but Ella doesn’t take her nose out of her phone. Erin frowns and sits down. She sits there with her arms folded over her chest, pouting.

Ella finally looks up when she’s finished with whatever it is that she was looking at. “Why aren’t you eating?” She questions.

Erin shrugs. “Why are you ignoring me? Are you mad at me?” Erin wonders.

“No.” Ella scrunches up her face in confusion.

“Then why are you so crabby. Last night. Today. I didn’t even get a morning kiss.” Erin pouts harder. She glances over at Ella quickly before looking back at her plate of food.

Ella has a puzzled look on her face. “I’m not mad at you. Just eat.” Ella says and picks up her fork and starts on her breakfast. She thinks while she eats. She didn’t know she was letting off the vibe that she was mad at Erin. “Please eat, Erin.” Ella insists when Erin just sits there.

“Not until I get an answer.” Erin puts her foot down.

“Fine.” Ella sets her fork down. “Food’s gonna get cold.”

“I don’t care.” Erin sits up a little straighter in her chair. She’s ready for answers.

Ella shakes her head and sighs. She bows and looks down at her lap. She takes a deep breath before she starts. “I’ve just been thinking about the coming months and everything that’s going to happen. I just, the realization finally hit me of everything that is going to take place. And it’s a lot.”

“Yeah. You’re about to find out how crazy a World Cup or Olympic year is.” Erin tells her.

“It’s not just that. First, there’s the Cyprus Cup, and I’m going to Houston and have to get everything set up there and then come back here for Cara’s wedding. You’ll be training. Will you even be in Houston before the World Cup. Do you know yet?” Ella starts rattling things off.

“John said he’s gonna try and get everyone with their teams for the first few games but we’ll see.” Erin comments.

“We’re going to be in different place for almost that entire time. All the way to July. That’s a long time.” Ella says and finally looks over at Erin.

Erin nods. “Like I said, it’s gonna be crazy.”

“Yeah, but-“ Ella starts and stops.

“But, what?” Erin prompts.

“But- but-“ Ella loses it. The tears start slipping down her cheeks.

Erin scrambles out of her chair. “Woah. Woah. Woah. No crying. Come here.” Erin stands and pulls Ella out of her chair.

“I can’t help it.” Ella blubbers.

“Hey.” Erin takes Ella’s face in her palms. “No crying allowed. I don’t want to see my beautiful girl crying.” Ella cracks a little smile at Erin’s words. Erin wipes the tears away with her thumbs as they fall. “Come here, babe.” She pulls Ella to her chest. “It’s gonna be fine. I know it will be hard but you are the strongest person I’ve ever met. You’ll adjust and it will all work out. I will miss you like crazy and it will be hard to be apart. But you know what?” Erin pulls Ella away from her chest a little bit so she can look into those enchanting eyes.

Ella shakes her head and sniffs up some snot. “What?”

“You, my dear, are my biggest motivation as we go into this World Cup. For my country, my family, and you. Ella, you’re my biggest inspiration. Everything that you’ve done in your life and everything that you’ve been through. I don’t think I could have gone through all of that and come out on the other side stronger, like you did. You inspire me every day.” Erin moves her hands to Ella’s shoulders, rubbing up and down Ella’s arms gently.

“Yeah?” Ella asks.

“Yeah.” Erin nods. “Try not to think too much into the future and try not to worry about it. Focus on the here and now. Live in the present. Okay?”

“Okay.” Ella nods.

“We might be apart but I will never be more than a phone call or facetime away. And just think, if we can get through the next few months of being apart we can get through anything.” Erin kisses the top of Ella’s head. “It’ll be worth it.”

“I don’t want to be a distraction. That’s why I’ve been crabby.”

“What?” Erin is pretty good at translating Ella speak but even sometimes she still needs to ask for clarification.

“I don’t want to be a distraction to you and I’ve been trying to keep all my- fears- to myself so that I’m not distracting you from your World Cup training. I know it’s very important.” Ella explains what’s been going on the last few days.

Erin chuckles a little. “Oh, how I love you. Ella, you are the farthest thing from a distraction for me. When I come home after a full day of training, and I’m spent, all I want to do is eat dinner and do whatever with you. You help me unwind from the day. You help me work things out without doing more than being there and listening as I talk. You see things in a different perspective than I do. On the field, and in life. All of that, only makes my game stronger. Makes me a better goalkeeper. At the risk of being corny I’m going to say that because of you I’m playing the best soccer of my entire career.”

“You think so?” Ella wonders.

“I know so. I’ve never felt like this. So free. There are no burdens. When I go out on the field I am completely in tune with what’s happening. There’s nothing off the field that is weighing down on me. There is nothing to worry about. I’m happy. Maybe the happiest I’ve ever been. Baby, that’s because of you. So, no, you are not a distraction.”

“Wow.” Ella smiles and bites her lip shyly at the same time.

Erin tilts Ella’s chin up. “Yeah, wow.” She says and kisses her. Erin rests her forehead against Ella’s. “We are going to spend as much time together as possible before I have to leave for Cyprus. We are going to go out to dinner once a week. We are going to have a blast at Cara’s bachelorette party this coming weekend. And we will do the same when we go visit my parents on the island after that. We’ll take lots of pictures.” Erin wiggles her eyebrows. “That you can look at when we aren’t together.”

“We’re gonna miss your birthday.” Ella mumbles and pouts.

Erin understands Ella completely on this one. “You’ll just have to make it up to me when I get back.”

Ella giggles. “Oh, I will.”

“Good.” Erin kisses Ella again. “But, seriously. What can I do to ease your concerns?” She wants to know what she can do to make all of this easier for Ella. She knows Ella isn’t used to all this National team stuff.

Ella shakes her head. “Nothing really. It’s just that I’m worried and it’s all in my head. I just wish I could shut off my brain sometimes and just go by my heart. It’s always been that way though. I’m a bit of a worrier. Mostly about things in the future. Things I have no control over.” She voices her concerns.

“Try to not think about what might or might not happen. Just remember that.” Erin says.

“I’ll try.”

“Okay, good. Anything else?” Erin wants to make sure they’ve covered everything.

Ella shakes her head. “Nope.”

Erin nods once. “Okay. Good talk.” Smirking in satisfaction.

That makes Ella laugh.

Erin grins when Ella laughs. “I love your laugh. I love you.” She says with the softest of smiles.

“I love you, honey. And thank you, you always know how to make me feel better about everything. And see reason. And know how to talk me down from a ledge.” Ella whispers quietly. Her emotions have a tendency to sneak up on her sometimes and then there’s nothing she can do but Erin knows how to get through to her and talk to her and calm her down. “Thank you.”

“We’re a pretty good team, huh?” Erin jokes.

“I guess.” Ella shrugs.

Erin laughs. “Now, how about this breakfast that I slaved over for you?”

“Kiss.” Ella requests. Erin nods and meets Ella for a kiss. “A proper good morning kiss.” Ella grins. “Sorry about that earlier.”

“Don’t worry, babe. You made up for it. I got like three or four kisses already today. Better than the average morning before breakfast.”

“You’re a little shit.” Ella giggles and steps away from Erin and takes her chair at the table again. She brings a forkful of food to her mouth just as Erin is sitting down next to her. “Uck, it’s cold.”

Erin laughs and stands back up. “I’ll warm it up.” She takes the plates and goes back to the kitchen.

“I love you.” Ella calls after her.

“Uh-huh.” Erin hums and Ella giggles some more.

* * *

 

 “Here.” Ella hands Erin her phone. “Take my picture.”

“What? Why?” Erin wonders and fumbles with Ella’s phone.

“You’ll see.” Ella says as she runs ahead of Erin on the trail. She runs and jumps, hanging onto the broken off tree branch. “Okay.” Ella yells back to Erin. She starts doing pull ups on the tree branch. Ten in total before she drops to the ground and turns around to face Erin again.

Erin is looking down at the phone in her hands. She scrolls through the six pictures that she took of Ella while she was doing her pullups.

“Any good ones?” Ella asks and steps up to Erin’s side.

“I don’t know, but damn- the girl in this picture is ripped.” Erin says smirking down at the phone. “She’s smoking hot. A total babe.” Erin grins and looks up from the phone, locking eyes with Ella.

“Let me see.” Ella reaches for the phone.

Erin winks at Ella and hands over the phone. “No, but seriously, all that new training that you’ve been doing this offseason certainly agrees with you. Not to say that you weren’t in good shape before cuz duh. But more sculpted and leaner. I bet you’re faster too. I mean, you were fast before but since you’ve been working with Fortius I can see the difference, the improvement. I can see the changes in your body.” Erin smirks.

Ella pulls her lips to one side. “What are you saying? You’ve been creepy on me when I’m naked?”

Erin shrugs. “Well-“

They both laugh. “Thanks, babe. I’ve noticed the changes too.”

“Hotter than ever.” Erin smirks.

Ella nods and looks over the photos. “Which one is your favorite?” She asks Erin.

“They’re all great. But I really like the one where you’re just hanging from the branch.” Erin adds her two cents.

“Mmm, yeah. I like that one too.” Ella locks her phone and holds out her hand. “Shall we continue.”

Erin looks down at Ella’s hand and then back to Ella’s eyes. “Really?”

“Yeah. You’re gonna be gone soon.” Ella says.

“But you don’t like holding hands in public.” Erin says. Ella’s made a point of it in the past. She’s more likely to hold Erin hand in Vancouver or Chicago but she won’t do it in Houston because she doesn’t feel safe or want to be harassed. But Ella isn’t really the PDA hand holding type of person anyway.

“We’re in the woods, Erin.” Ella says like that explains everything when it really explains nothing.

Erin rolls her eyes. “O-kay.” She takes Ella’s hand and they continue on their hike.

* * *

 

Erin is glued to the game that’s on the tv but Ella is preoccupied with other thoughts than just the soccer game. “Erin?”

“Hmm.” Erin hums and glances over at Ella.

“What are we doing today?” Ella asks.

“What do you want to do today?” Erin asks.

“I don’t have any plans. It’s Valentine’s Day.” Ella says.

Erin hums. “I know that. Happy Valentine’s Day, babe.” Erin say and looks back at the tv.

Ella rolls her eyes. “How romantic.”

Erin looks back at Ella sarcastic quip. “I know it’s Valentine’s Day. And I know you don’t have any plans. That you didn’t make any plans. Cuz, if you did, you wouldn’t be able to have gone this long without telling me.” Erin smirks. “We can do whatever you want today, babe, but we have dinner reservations at six tonight. You’ll have to dress up”

“So, you did plan something?” Ella smiles happily.

“Of course. I need to treat my woman right on Valentine’s Day and seeing as you took care of everything for our anniversary, it was my turn.” Erin holds her hand out across the couch for Ella to take.

Ella takes Erin’s hand, but gets up, she must move Max, but then sits down right next to Erin. Hand still in hers. “I love you.”

“I love you, Ella.” Erin says and gives her girl a kiss. “Now, can we watch the rest of the game, then we can do whatever you want.”

“Okay.” Ella says easily. She thinks of a few things that they can do as the minutes tick down in the match.

* * *

 

“Good morning, baby.” Ella whispers as she sees Erin’s eyes flicker open for the first time today.

“Morning.” Erin mumbles in a scratchy voice. “How long have you been awake?” She asks.

Ella rubs her palm up and down Erin’s   bare arm as she thinks over the question. “Probably about ten minute or so.”

“And- you’ve been what- creepily staring at me the whole time.” Erin jokes.

“Yes, and don’t tell me you never do it either.” Ella smirks.

Erin nods and smiles. “Fair. Kiss?” Erin puckers her lips and waits for Ella to come to her. She doesn’t have to wait long before Ella’s lips are on hers for a lovely good morning kiss. “Bummer that Valentine’s Day is over. I like celebrating our love.”

“Who says it has to be over?” Ella raises her eyebrows. “Valentine’s Day is just some holiday that was made up to make money. I don’t need a special day to celebrate my love for you. That can be any day in my mind. Actually, I like the idea of celebrating other days throughout the year not just the day that everyone celebrates.”

“So, we’re still celebrating today?” Erin questions.

Ella shrugs. “Why not? What do you want to do today? It’s just gonna be you and me. No friends, no phone calls. None of that. You and me and Max. The perfect little family.” Ella pecks Erin’s lips quickly.

“I want to make breakfast. I saw something online the other day and I want to try it.” Erin says.

“Okay, what else?” Ella asks.

“We could go for a hike in the woods with Mr. Maxwell.” Erin suggests.

“I love it.” Ella says and starts to rolls out of bed.

“Wait.” Erin says and reaches out for Ella’s arm.

“What?” Ella looks over her shoulder at Erin laying there in bed, on her back, unmoving since she awoke.

“Come.” Erin waves Ella back to lay with her.

Ella does as Erin requests. She slides over until she next to Erin and then rolls over, sitting up, and slipping her right leg over Erin, sitting on Erin’s hips. “What’s up?” Ella asks.

“What do you have planned for this week?” Erin slides her hands up and down Ella’s thighs and bites her bottom lip.

“Just work outs Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.” Ella shrugs. It’s the normal weekly routine that she’s gotten into. “Why?”

“It’s our last week of full training. Then we have a few days off before we leave for Cyprus next week.” Erin starts with.

“Yeah, I know all that already.” Ella comments. “What are you getting at, Erin?”

“I was talking to John on Friday. He’s bringing in some extra bodies for this week and asked if you wanted to come help us train again.”

“Really?” Ella asks. She loves the idea. Erin nods and then Ella leans down, taking Erin’s face in her hands, and kisses her hard on the lips. “Tell John I’ll be there.”

Erin smiles. She loves seeing her girl happy. “Tell him yourself when we go on Monday.”

Ella grins. “I’ll make sure to thank him.” It’s been a few weeks since the last time Ella trained with the CANWNT. She’s only trained with them a handful of times this offseason, but every time she does it means the world to Ella that John calls her in and has her train with the team. She feels respected by John and the team. Ella also feels super grateful for the opportunity and she always makes sure that John know that. “I’ll have to tell Wes that I don’t need him anymore, that I’m moving up in the world.” Ella laughs heartily.

“I’m sure he’ll love that.” Erin says with a giggle of her own.


	43. Chapter 43

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it's been a while. i just bought a house and have been spending 98% of my free time cleaning, painting, etc. there are probably three of four more chapters after this chapter

Ella’s phone rings on the morning of the 26th. Even before she’s awake. Ella rolls over and grabs her phone off the nightstand. “Hello.” She mumbles.

“Hi, baby.” Erin says joyfully on the other end.

“What time is it?” Ella mumbles and pulls her phone away from her face to see the time. “5:36. Erin Katrina, you couldn’t wait another hour.”

“Nope. I saw what you posted. Thanks babe. I love you.” Erin says.

Ella’s a little more awake now. “Happy Birthday, babe. Do you feel any older?”

“Nope. I feel the same as yesterday.”

“Hmm.” Ella hums. “Max, come here.” She summons the little dog. Max moves from his spot by Ella’s feet up towards her face. “Say hi to mommy. Wish her a happy birthday.” Ella holds the phone towards Max’s face.

“Hi, Max.” Erin yells through the phone.

Max looks at the phone curiously and then looks at Ella curiously. Ella chuckles and pulls the phone back to her ear. “He’s still sleepy. What are you up to today?” Ella asks.

“We had a team meeting this morning and we have a light practice this afternoon. We are still getting acclimated here. To the weather and the time change. It’ll be a couple days before we have a full-on practice. And then the games come. I can’t wait.” Erin says happily.

Ella loves when Erin gets excited about tournament. “I wish I could be there to see you play.”

“That would be great but you have an important job to do while I’m away. Well, more than one. But, first and foremost, you must take care of our boy. And second, you need to get everything settled in Houston. Ella, you are going to absolutely kill it this year. I know it.” Erin has the utmost confidence in Ella and everything she is capable of.

“Thanks.” Ella grins hard. She can’t help it. Anytime Erin says something nice about her or gives Ella a compliment Ella adores it. “I miss you.” Ella mumbles awkwardly.

“I miss you too. I’ll skype you later so I can see that pretty face of yours. Okay?” Erin says.

Ella nods. “Okay. When?”

“After our practice and probably after dinner. When I’m back in my room.” Erin explains. “I miss you too, baby. Even though it only been like two days.” Erin teases lightly. “I just wanted to catch you before you went for your morning workout. Have a great day. I love you.”

“Okay. I love you too. Have fun today.” Ella says.

“Bye-bye.” Erin sings into the phone.

“Bye.” Ella says and ends the call. She sets her phone down on the bed next to her and pulls Max to her stomach. “Let’s see if I can get back to sleep.” Ella gives Max a pat as her settles in next to her.

* * *

 

“Let’s go old lady.” Kealia yells at Ella as they pass the halfway point in their team run.

“I’m not old, my legs just have a lot more miles on them than yours.” Ella pants as the run.

“So? Old?” Kealia teases.

Ella rolls her eyes and kicks it into another gear and runs past Kealia and the rest of her teammates, to the front of the pack. Ella leads the group around the park, finally returning them to the parking lot. “Whose old now?” Ella pants, as she bends over, with her hands on her knees.

“Still you.” Kealia grins.

Ella rolls her eyes. “I’m not even the oldest one on the team. That would be Erin.”

“I don’t see her here.” Bianca mentions.

“And then Niki.” Ella points over to Niki Cross.

Niki throws her palms in the air and shrugs. “Age equals wisdom.”

“Does it?” Bianca asks.

Ella likes that. “Yeah. I’m not old, I’m wise.”

“And old.” Kealia laughs.

“Enough from you. All of you. Anyone younger than me. I am your captain. You shall respect me.” Ella puffs out her chest.

“Okay, old lady.” Kealia laughs and walks away from the group. “See you tomorrow, Captain Old Lady.” She throws over her shoulder as she approaches her car.

“Aren’t you going to stretch with the group?” Brittany asks.

Ella grumbles, knowing where Kealia is going. “She has an appointment. Let’s stretch.” She starts the stretches for the group.

* * *

 

Erin sets her training bag down when she gets in the door. “Hey, little man.” Erin bends down to pick Maxwell up. “Wanna go out?” She asks. Max just grins excitedly at her. “What am I thinking, of course you do.” She sets Max down and pats him on the top of the head. “We’ll go for a walk and then we will call mama.”

Their walk is brief. Max wants to get back to the house as quickly as Erin does. She feeds Max his dinner when they return and then preps her own dinner and puts it in the oven. Erin sets the timer and then gets her phone and goes to sit at the table. She smiles as she hits Ella’s contact information and then hits the call icon.

Ella is lying in bed, already settled in for the night, reading and waiting for Erin’s phone call. “Hey, babe.” Ella grins as she answers the phone.

“I can’t wait to see you either.” Erin says first and foremost. “Only two more days.”

Ella’s smile doubles from when she answered the phone. “So, you saw my post?”

“Yeah.” Erin chuckles lightly.

“Did you like it?” Ella asks coyly.

“Of course.” Erin tells Ella what she wants to hear, not that she doesn’t like it, but it’s a little silly to have to say so out loud. “So, Missy, how was your day?” Erin asks and Ella starts in on everything that happened that day. From their morning training session, to the prank that Steph and Niki pulled on Ella at lunch, to the second session of the day, the ice bath after, and then coming back to the apartment and having dinner and crawling into bed with a book.

“I miss you.” Ella coos.

Erin sighs. “Same here. But, like I said before, you’ll be here in two days. And then you don’t have to miss me. You’ll have me.”

Ella giggles. “Is that an offer, McLeod?”

Erin rolls her eyes. “Get your head out of the gutter. You know what I mean.”

Ella laughs. “Yeah, I do.” She says sassily.

“Stop.” Erin tells Ella flatly. Ella just laughs. “If you don’t stop, I’ll hang up.” Erin threatens and Ella gets quiet immediately.

“Okay.” Ella takes a deep breath. “What did you do today?”

Erin shrugs even though Ella can’t see her. “Just the usual. Meetings and a training session.” Max walks over and hops up onto the couch next Erin. “Hey, buddy.” She greets Max. “Max is here.” Erin mentions to Ella. “He misses his mama.”

Ella smirks. She loves it when Erin says stuff like that. Even though it’s silly. She feels it more than anything. She feels like she is Max’s mom too. She feels like they are a little family, the three of them. So she smirks when Erin brings it up. “Tell my boy I’ll see him in a few days.”

“Max, mama’s coming home in two days. Are you excited?” Max cocks his head to the right and looks at Erin curiously. “He’s thrilled.” Erin says to Ella.

Ella chuckles. “Tell him I said hi and give him lots of hugs and kisses for me tonight. And hugs and kisses for you too. I’m going to bed. It’s been a long day.” Ella yawns as she finishes her sentence.

“Okay, baby. I’ll talk to you tomorrow night. And then the morning after-“

“I’ll be there.” Ella finishes. “Yeah. Goodnight, my love.”

“Goodnight, beautiful.” Erin says softly. “I love you.”

“Love you too.” Ella yawns again as she ends the call. She shuts the light off and slips under the covers right away, knowing that in a few short minutes she will be asleep.

* * *

 

Ella’s plane lands in Vancouver and she goes through all that junk that you have to go through when you fly to another country. She wishes there were an easier way but she knows that is in the interest of safety and security. Ella just wants to get home and see Max and Erin.

Ella makes her way to the house and sticks her key in the lock. She hears the little feet on the floor on the opposite side of the door as she unlocks it. She opens the door and Max rushes out to greet her. He jumps up and down excitedly until Ella picks him up. “Hey, buddy, I missed you.” She kisses Max on the top of his head and he returns the kiss with multiple licks to Ella’s face. Ella giggles and steps into the house with the little dog. She sets her travel bag down and takes Max over to the couch. Kneeling in front of the piece of furniture, Ella puts Max on the couch and begins petting and scratching him. He rolls over and Ella smiles and scratches his stomach.

After they are both satisfied with a job well done, Ella gets up and takes her bag to the bedroom. She sets it at the foot of the bed and falls backwards onto the bed with a content sigh. Max comes in and jumps up on the bed next to Ella, he cuddles into her side. “Here.” Ella sits up and gets onto the bed and lays down on her side. She pats the spot by her hip and Max fills it.

* * *

 

After spending the morning with the team, Erin has permission to leave at lunchtime from John. He said she could have the afternoon off for wedding prep and whatever else she needs to do.

Erin hurries to her vehicle and then throws her stuff inside. She drives home impatiently and in record time. Erin unlocks the door and steps inside and is disappointed when there is no one there to greet her. She expected Max, or Max and Ella, or Ella, but she finds neither. Erin pulls her phone from her bag to see if Ella called or texted. Erin wonders if there was a problem with Ella’s flight and that she hasn’t arrived yet. She doesn’t find any messages and that doesn’t explain Max’s absence.

Erin sets her things down and ventures into the home. It’s quiet and Erin gets a thought. She goes to the bedroom and she finds what she’s looking for. Max lifts his head from its spot nestled at Ella’s stomach. Erin smiles. “Hey, buddy.” She whispers so she doesn’t wake the sleeping girl in their bed. Erin opens up her camera app on her phone and snaps a few pictures of Max and Ella sleeping together. It might be one of the cutest things Erin has ever seen and she has to document it.

She sets her phone down on the nightstand and sets a knee onto the bed. Ella shifts in her nap. As Erin puts more of her weight onto the bed Ella wakes up. “Hi.” Erin whispers as she sees Ella’s eyes blink open. “I was going to join you guys.”

Ella hums and smiles. She reaches out with her hand.

Erin crawls to the space beside Ella and Max and lays on her side, facing Ella. “Hey, you.” She gives Ella a tight-lipped smile. “How was your flight?” She asks.

“Early.” Ella mumbles and slides the palm of her right hand up the length of Erin’s arm to her shoulder.

“Hence the nap, eh?”

Ella nods. She wraps her hand, her fingers around the back of Erin’s neck and pulls Erin to her for a much-needed kiss. “I love you.” She sighs afterwards.

Erin smirks. “I love you too.” She wraps her arms around Ella and pulls their bodies closer. Max gets squished and jumps out of his spot and off the bed. “Sorry, buddy.” Erin chuckles and goes in for another long kiss.

“I’m so excited you’re here for the weekend.” Erin mumbles and runs her hand up and down Ella’s back.

“Me too.” Ella sighs and rolls into Erin’s body.

“It’s gonna be so chaotic but so great at the same time. There’s a lot to do this afternoon and evening.”

“Can we just stay like this for a few more minutes before the chaos starts?” Ella smiles as she pushes herself up onto her elbows.

“Sure.” With the okay from Erin, Ella crashes her lips into Erin’s in a bruising kiss.

* * *

 

Erin drives with her left hand. Her right has Ella’s left hand in its grasp. She rubs her thumb back and forth across the back of Ella’s hand as she drives. Ella quietly scrolls through the pictures from today on her phone. Maxwell is on her lap, passed out from all the excitement of the day.

Ella comes to the picture of her and Erin in their dresses from the afternoon with the snow and the evergreens in the background. She squeezes Erin’s hand to get her attention. “Can I post this pic of us, honey?” Ella shows the face of the phone to Erin.

Erin looks over quickly. She glances at the photo and then her eyes return to the road. “Go for it.” She nods. “I’ll do the same thing when we get home. Send it to me.”

“Done.” Ella smiles and bites her tongue between her teeth.

A few minutes later Erin pulls the vehicle into the driveway. She picks up her phone once she shut the car off. She looks at the photo that Ella sent her. “I like that.” She smiles over at Ella.

Ella mostly ignores her. She wiggles Max a little in an attempt to wake him but he doesn’t move. It’s not until Ella opens the door that he pops his eyes open. “We’re home, buddy.” She tells the dog and picks him up and gets out of the car.

Erin follows them into the house. Ella sets Max down and he walks over to his water dish to get a drink. “Do you want me to get the stuff out of the car?” Ella asks as she points in the direction of the car.

“No, it’s fine til tomorrow.” Erin says.

Ella shuts the door and starts to take her jacket off.

“Can I take your coat?” Erin asks. She’s in an overly lovey mood and wants to do little extra things for Ella tonight.

Ella, however, narrows her eyes and Erin and looks at her like she’s crazy. “I can take my own coat off.” She shrugs her coat off as she says it and hangs it up on the hook on the wall near the door.

Erin looks away from Ella. “Oh.” She mumbles trying to think quickly of something else that she can do to ‘ _swipe Ella off her feet’_ so to speak.

But, Erin realizes that she doesn’t have to do anything special or fancy. She holds out her hand for Ella to take. Ella does so right away. “Today was amazing. I love seeing people happy and in love and ready to spend their lives together.”

“Me too.” Ella says with a smile.

“Ya know, it’s even more special that it’s my little sister.” Erin says proudly.

Ella chuckles lightly. “Now you and I are in the same boat.”

Erin cocks her head to the side. “How so?”

“Well-“ Ella pauses and licks her lips with a little extra emphasis. “-all my siblings are married. And now, all your siblings are married.” Erin laughs. “Pressures on us.”

“True.” Erin nods. “But, that just means I have to work harder. I want to have a strong, dependable relationship. I want to have that solid foundation. I want my love, our love, to be solid.”

Ella smiles softly. “It is.” She whispers to Erin and then pushes up onto her toes to kiss Erin tenderly. “Love is a powerful thing. The most powerful. I see my brother and sisters and their relationships with their partners and that inspires me to want and have the same thing.”

“Same.” Erin says with a goofy grin.

Ella chuckles. She pats at Erin’s chest with her free hand. “Come on.” She mumbles and leads Erin to their bedroom.

* * *

 

“What a wonderful day.” Erin says with her head resting on Ella’s shoulder, an arm and leg draped across Ella’s body. “I’m so glad that you could be here for today.” She mumbles.

Ella looks down at Erin as best as she can in the position they are in. “I’m glad I was here today too.” She presses her lips to Erin’s temple and strokes gently over Erin’s back. “And it was a wonderful day. A wonderful ceremony. And a wonderful reception. A great day all around.” Ella says softly.

“And a great _after_ party for us.” Erin smirks devilishly.

“Definitely.” Ella matches Erin’s smirk. “You wanna do anything else today?” Ella asks.

Erin shakes her head against Ella lightly. “Just sleep.” She whispers.

“Okay, goodnight honey. I love you.” Ella stokes her hand through Erin hair.

“Love you too. Goodnight beautiful.” Erin presses her lips to Ella’s collarbone gently.

* * *

 

Ella awakes the next morning to some movement next to her in the bed. She rolls over and sees that Erin’s back to her. It’s an unusual position that Erin is in, she curled up in a little ball, laying on her side, her knees to her chest. Ella puts her hand on Erin’s shoulder and feels a shutter run through Erin’s body.

“What wrong, honey?” Ella asks with concern. “Are you sick?” It’s Ella’s first thought.

Erin curls further into herself and Ella leans up on her elbow so she can get a better look at Erin. What she sees brings a gloominess over her, over the room. Ella sees the tears silently running down Erin’s face onto the pillow, forming a puddle where they hit.

“Erin?” Ella asks. It’s slightly alarming to wake up after a wonderful, joyous previous day and night to your partner’s crying.

Erin cries harder and rolls, face first into the pillow to hide from Ella.

Ella pushes herself up into a sitting position. “Erin, come on.” She grips Erin’s shoulder and tries to get her to roll over. After a couple unsuccessful attempts, Ella finally gets Erin to budge and roll onto her back. Ella reaches over and the first thing she does is wipe away Erin’s tears. “What’s wrong?” She asks softly again.

Erin shakes her head. “It’s nothing.” She sniffles.

Ella scoffs. “It’s obviously not nothing. You’re upset and you’re crying. Did you have a bad dream?” Ella asks because sometimes she has those.

Erin shakes her head.

“Then what is it?” Ella asks. She’s confused beyond belief as to what is happening.

Erin takes a deep breath and reaches over to the nightstand where her phone is. She picks it up and in one continuous motion pushes the button to light up the screen and shows Ella what’s on the screen.

Ella looks at the phone and at first she doesn’t understand what Erin is showing her. Erin provides no context. Why is Erin showing her the comment section of an Instagram post? But after a few seconds she realizes what post it is.

“It’s stupid. I just got upset. It’s nothing.” Erin mumbles and pulls the phone away from Ella.

“Hey.” Ella glares at Erin. She reaches for Erin’s hand with the phone in it. “Let me see that.” She tells Erin to show her the phone again. Erin frowns but holds the phone out again.

Ella reads all the comments that are on the screen. Her brow furrows as things come into clarity and she understands, or she thinks she might understand, what the issue is. “Is this my post from yesterday?” It’s more of a rhetorical question.

“Yeah.” Erin mumbles.

Ella hones in on the comment that she knows has upset Erin. She reads it again and again until it’s burned in her brain. But she only had to read the username once know who it is that posted the comment. “Okay.” Ella says soberly. Ella looks over at Erin, who is wiping at her eyes and trying to control her tears, as Ella thinks everything over. She takes a deep breath and then leans over and kisses Erin’s forehead.

Ella can feel herself getting angrier and more upset by the second but she doesn’t want to let that anger control her. She grounds herself with her connection with Erin. Ella knows that it does her no good to get angry right now. She focuses completely on Erin. She takes Erin’s hand that is nearest her in both of her hands, rubbing her thumbs softly over Erin’s skin.

“Tell me what you are thinking? Feeling?” Ella requests.

Erin shakes her head. “It’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid. And I want to know. It’s important to me.”

“Is that what you think?” Erin mumbles. Ella gives Erin a curious look, to explain further. “That we are a sad story. That this story has a sad ending, even though it might not be written yet.”

Ella leans back, shocked. “No. I never said anything like that.”

“You don’t necessarily have to. You think like that- that comment. Or you used to.” Erin looks across the room, away from Ella. Her heartbreaks the more she thinks about it.

Ella lays down, on her back. “Those aren’t my words.” She says resolutely. “And you can’t try and put words in my mouth.” Ella stares over at Erin but Erin still isn’t looking at her. “Look at me.” She demands.

Erin turns her head to look at Ella. “What?”

Ella raises an eyebrow. “Don’t be snippy.” Ella warns. “Now.” Ella holds her arms open. “Come here.”

“I don’t want to.” Erin folds her arms over her chest.

Ella knows Erin is feeling hurt and just being stubborn. “Okay, but I think it will help. I’d really like to know what’s going through your head, though. I know that you are hurt and probably scared right now but I’d like to know why.”

Erin sighs and rolls onto her side, facing Ella. “I am.” Erin looks down at Ella’s stomach, not at her face, when she speaks. “And it caught me by surprise.”

“It’s okay.” Ella pats at her chest. “Come on.”

Erin scoots in, tucking her head under Ella’s chin and Ella wraps her arms around Erin tightly. “Tell me.” Ella whispers and kisses the top of Erin’s head.

“I can’t.” Erin whispers back.

“Why?”

“Cuz it’s not nice.” Erin smiles sadly at her own comment and thoughts.

Ella steels herself for the worst. “Let me be the judge of that. Why were you so upset that you were crying?” She asks and rubs her hands up and down Erin’s back. She waits for Erin to say something but after a minute or so of nothing Ella prompts her again. “I love you and-“

“Are you going to leave me?” Erin says bluntly, cutting whatever Ella was going to say off.

Ella is shocked. She takes in a deep breath. “Why would you say that? Why would you think that?”

Erin shrugs. “I’m not saying, like, tomorrow but-“ Erin swallows thickly. The words are hard to say. “-like, one day.”

“No- I- what happened to us getting married?” Ella stutters awkwardly. She wishes she could get up but Erin has her pinned down to the bed.

“I don’t know.” Erin shrugs. “What if, one day you don’t wanna do this anymore. What if you decide you just wanna go back.” It’s a fear that’s been in Erin’s head for a long time but one that she has never voiced.

“Go back to what?” Ella asks in confusion.

“You’re religion. You’ve done that before right. On and off.” Erin closes her eyes to prevent more tears from falling. “When the thrill, when the excitement fades, when that honeymoon stage ends, when it’s boring and normal everyday life. Will you want to go back? Will you want to leave me?” This isn’t the first time Erin has thought all this.

Ella thinks for a minute and Erin takes that as a bad sign. “That comment, it scared me, and it made me realize that any day you could leave me because of what you believe. And that’s terrifying. Ella, I’ve invested so much, too much.” She tells Ella sadly.

“Here.” Ella pushes Erin away from her a little. But not too far. Just far enough so she can roll on her side so that she is face to face with Erin. “That’s better. I need to see you, see your face. More importantly, I think, you need to see me, look at me, when I tell you this. Okay?”

Ella gets a small nod out of Erin.

“Those words, that comment, that’s not me. What I’m about to tell you is what I believe, what I think, what I feel. Okay?”

She gets another small nod from Erin.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m not going _back_.” Ella emphasis the last word.

“How can you know that for sure?” Erin questions.

“I don’t. I can’t.” Ella licks her lips. “But, I believe that our love is strong and true. Whether that’s a sin in the eyes of the church or not-“ Ella stops getting away from the point and what she wants to say. “-for me, at the end of the day that doesn’t matter. What matters is love. Jesus was all about love and that’s what I want to be about. The organization, the church, at least where I come from, as far as I’m concerned isn’t teaching it right. For years and years and years one interpretation was drilled into my head. I didn’t think for myself. I just went along with what I was taught. I never thought there could be a different way of looking at the readings in the Bible. And- it’s a book that was written thousands of years ago. Things today aren’t the same as they were back then. In a lot of ways, it’s outdated.” Ella pauses and searches Erin face, trying to gauge the type of reaction she is going to get from Erin. “I can’t be a hundred percent sure of anything. No one can. But, from past experiences I know that there are no certainties in life. No guarantees. But, what I do know is that I love you with everything in me and everything that I have and I will continue loving you and honoring you each and every day. I believe in love, above all else. Isn’t that what it’s all about.” Ella finishes with a little smile and then leans in to press her lips to Erin’s forehead.

“Okay.” Erin says, feeling a little better.

“After all that, all you say is okay.” Ella chuckles.

Erin shrugs with a tight-lipped smile. Ella smirks and leans in for a kiss, which Erin meets her for.

“Do you feel a little better now?” Ella asks and Erin nods. “Have I eased your concerns?” Erin nods again. “Okay. Erin, I don’t want you to question my love, our love. I don’t want you to fear or question if I’m going anywhere cuz I’m not. I can’t. You said you’ve invested too much but I’ve invest a lot too. Erin, I moved to another country so I could be near you. I love you and nothing is going to change that. Love always wins. And love is always going to win when it involves me and you.”

Erin sighs. “I love you so much. So, so much. Thank you.”

“Anything for you, honey.” Ella kisses Erin’s forehead.

“And I’m sorry for being a big baby about this.” Erin pouts.

Ella shakes her head and kisses the pout from Erin’s face. “Don’t be sorry and you’re not a baby. This was a serious concern for you and it needed to be addressed.” Ella glances away from Erin briefly. “I can’t believe this had to happen right now though. Talk about putting a damper on a wonderful weekend.”

“Yeah.” Erin rolls her eyes.

“Is there anything else?” Ella wants to make sure that they covered everything. Erin shakes her head. “Okay. And in the future, you talk to me. Any concern, any fear, any craziness. We are supposed to be working on that. The whole communication thing. Your problems are my problems. Your concerns are my concerns. We’re in this together.”

“Yeah.” Erin rolls her eyes and makes a silly face. “Alright.”

Ella giggles and kisses Erin softly. “Good, cuz I have to leave in a few hours and I want my remaining time with you to be happy. I want to see that beautiful smile of yours. I want to go for walk with you and Max. And I want to come back here and have a late breakfast with you before I have to go to the airport. I want to soak up as much happy time with you in the next few hours as possible. No more tears. No more fears. Just happiness and love. The theme of the weekend.”

Erin hums. “That sounds perfect. But can we lay in bed a little bit longer.”

“Of course. I need to get some good cuddles in before I go.”

Erin curls into Ella. “I don’t want you to go.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Ella sighs.

* * *

 

The plane lands in Houston and Ella makes her way through the airport and out to her ride. Steph was nice enough to agree to pick Ella up from the airport. Ella spots the car and hurries over to get in. She throws her bags in the back seat and then hops into the front.

“How was the weekend? How was the wedding?” Steph asks with a grin.

“Wonderful.” Ella beams. “Thanks for picking me up. It’s better than having to pay for a cab. I’ll have to buy you coffee and a donut.”

Steph laughs.

Ella pulls her phone out of her purse. And starts typing out a text to Erin.

**I just sent you an email when we landed. Please read the attachment asap. I’m in the car on the way back to the apartment. I’m going to send Randy an email to give him a heads up as soon as I get home. Then I’m going to post that to my blog.**

Ella sends the text and takes a deep breath. The whole flight back to Houston Ella was furiously writing and rewriting what she wanted to say, what she wanted to say to the world. She wants to make a few points clear and it’s important to her that she does.

Ella types out another message.

**Let me know what you think. I don’t know how long I’ll be awake tonight. It’s been a long, emotional day. I want you to know that I will always love and support you. I will always love and support us and our relationship. And I will always defend and honor it. To you and all the world. No matter what. Love always wins. I love you Erin.**

“What are you doing over there?” Steph asks.

“Texting Erin.” Ella puts her phone in her lap.

Steph chuckles. “You’re, like, typing a novel over there. Not that much could have happened on your trip back.”

Ella shrugs. “But it kinda did.”

“What?” Steph glances over in confusion.

“I’ll send you an email.” Ella says cryptically.

“O-kay. You usually don’t make much sense but right now you make zero sense.” Steph tells Ella.

Ella knows and doesn’t care. She sends Steph the email with the attachment that she sent to Erin.

It’s mostly quiet in the car the rest of the drive to Ella’s apartment. Steph pulls up outside and Ella gets out. Steph puts the car in park and exits the driver’s side too. She helps Ella with her bags to the door. “I don’t know what’s going on with you tonight but have a good night and I’ll see you tomorrow. I don’t want to ask any questions right now.”

Ella smiles in thanks. “Thank you. It’s been a long day and I just want to go to sleep. Read your email and watch for my tweet. It will all make sense, I promise.” Ella gives Steph a side hug. “See you at training bright and early tomorrow.” Ella winks and heads inside.

* * *

 

Ella gets inside, throws her bags down, gets out her laptop, and posts the ‘article’ to her blog. She simply tweets a link. That’s it. Ella brushes her teeth, changes her clothes, and gets into bed. She checks her phone. She has a text from Erin.

**Call me if you’re still up.**

Ella smiles and brings the phone to her ear, waiting for the call to connect.

Erin picks up. “I love you, babe. So very much. What you wrote was beautiful. Thank you. I don’t know how I got so lucky. I’m so lucky.” Erin sighs, close to tears. This time happy tears.

“I think I’m the lucky one.” Ella says. “And I needed to take a stand. I needed ‘people’ to know the truth and where I’m coming from. I needed to do this for us. I just needed to.”

“I know.” Erin says. “I know.”

“You don’t think it was too much or too forceful, do you?” Ella asks. Not that she is going to take back anything that she said but she worries about her words sometimes especially with some of her hurtful words in the past.

“Not at all. It was perfect.” Erin chuckles. “For as much as you don’t make sense when you talk sometimes you are a beautiful writer, Ella.”

“Thanks, honey.” Ella grins.

“I suppose you want to go to sleep?” Erin asks. Ella yawns in response and Erin laughs. “I got my answer I guess. Alright, have a good day tomorrow. I will talk to you tomorrow night. I love you and sweet dreams.

“I love you, Erin.” Ella mumbles, already being pulled into sleep.

“Goodnight, beautiful.” Erin hums smoothly into the phone.

“Goodnight, my love.” Ella says and ends the call. She sighs and rolls onto her side, immediately feeling the empty bed next to her and missing her cuddle partner.


	44. Chapter 44

Ella sees the ball coming a split second before it hits her in the face. She falls to the ground, immediately, with pain searing through her nose, and whole face really.

She knows it’s broken as she raises her hand to her nose to touch it, examine it. Steph and Morgan Brian come over to check on Ella.

“Are you okay?” Morgan asks.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” Steph says at the same time.

Ella rolls onto her side. “You broke my fucking nose.” She yells and pulls her hand from her face to see if there is any blood. “Again.” She mumbles and rolls onto her back.

Steph and Morgan stand over Ella laughing. The ref and the trainer come over to check on Ella. The ref makes Ella go off but she’s not off for long. The trainer looks at her nose. “I’m fine.” Ella tells the trainer. “Let me go.” She insists.

The ball flies out of bounds and Ella reaches to pick it up. The trainer chuckles. “Fine. Go.” She walks away from Ella and Ella holds the ball over her head, ready to throw it back in.

* * *

 

Ella flops down onto the couch. She brings her phone to her face and finds Erin’s name. She hits it and brings the phone to her ear and waits. It rings twice.

“Hey, babe.” Erin’s voice chimes in Ella’s ear.

“Hi.” Ella sighs. It’s a great pleasure to hear Erin’s voice, especially after the game she had. “Did you see the game?”

“Some of it. How’s your face?” Erin asks.

“So, you saw that part?” Ella chuckles awkwardly.

“Yeah, I’m gonna have to yell at Steph the next time I see her. How’s your face?” Erin asks again because Ella didn’t give her an answer yet.

“Broken.”

“Your whole face?” Erin asks comically.

Ella chuckles. It hurts her nose a little to laugh, though, so it’s cut short. “No, just my nose. Number five.”

Erin would laugh but she knows Ella wouldn’t appreciate that. She knows Ella has a bit of a sore spot when it come to her broken noses. “So, what’s the damage?” Erin asks in the hopes that it’s not too serious and Ella won’t have to miss any time.

Ella shrugs even though Erin can’t see her. “Well, I’m not disfigured if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Aw, baby, I would still love you if your face were completely mangled.” Erin teases.

“Gee thanks. It hurts but it’s not out of place. I heard it crack so I know it’s broken. I’m seeing the doctor in the morning. Breathing doesn’t seem to be affected too much, so hopefully it’s just broken. They fixed it nice and good the last time so…”

“Hopefully.” Erin says optimistically. “I wish I was there.”

“That’s nice but what would you do if you were here?” Ella doesn’t really see the point.

“I didn’t know. Kiss it and make it all better.” Erin says cheekily.

“I’m not five.” Ella grumbles.

“But kisses make everything better.” Erin says sweetly.

Ella hums. “You might have a point there but there’s nothing you can do Erin. It’s just a broken nose. And it’s not like it’s something I’ve never gone through before. I’m a damn broken nose expert at this point.”

Erin chuckles. “True. But I still wish I were there.”

“Thanks babe.”

“What about Ali? Did you talk to her or Ash? I saw you there during the game.” Erin asks. She’s been wondering about Ali’s injury that stopped the game for more than five minutes.

“Yeah.” Ella nods. “I told Ali to hang in there. Looks like a concussion but the staff was worried about a neck injury too. And I talked to Ash after the game briefly. I told her to give Ali my best and that I’ll be thinking about her and praying for her health.”

“Oh, good. That was scary. It’s good you guys got the W but that was a rough match to watch.”

“I thought you only watched part of it.” Ella questions whether Erin was actually watching or not.

“I watched most of it. I only missed about ten minutes after halftime. I had to get something to eat.”

Ella chuckles. “Of course. What did you have? How did your day go?”

“It was mostly boring with the travel back and all. It’s good to be back home with Maxwell. We had a salad and some grilled chicken for dinner.” Erin generally doesn’t like traveling halfway across the world. They’re long trips and she’s an active person who doesn’t like being contained for more than a couple hours. Eight, ten, twelve hour plane rides aren’t her favorite. Flying from Paris to Vancouver counts as a boring, unproductive day.

“We?” Ella asks.

“Well, Max had the usual doggy food.” Erin looks around for Max but doesn’t see him anywhere. She assumes he’s probably napping. “Max.” Erin calls for the pup but doesn’t get a response. “Mama’s on the phone.” She yells so the dog can hear. He doesn’t come running so Erin drops it. “He’s napping.” She tells Ella.

“Let him sleep. I’m sure he’s glad to be home too.” Ella mumbles. “I’ll let you know about the ol’ schnoz as soon as I’m done at the doctor tomorrow.”

“Leave me a text. I’ll probably be busy.”

“Of course, dear. I think I’m gonna get ready for bed and do some reading.”

“Alright.” Erin knows Ella’s usual routine after a game. “Just shoot me a text when you are going to sleep.”

“Will do.” Ella yawns. She tired but she also knows that her body won’t let her sleep just yet. “I love you, babe. Goodnight.

“Love you too, Ella. Goodnight beautiful.”

Ella hangs up the phone call and goes into the bathroom. Her nose is a little swollen so after she washes her face and brushes her teeth Ella gets some ice and then gets into bed with her ice and her book. She’s ready to read for an hour or so until the adrenaline has worn off and she can actually sleep.

* * *

 

Ella is sitting in bed at the end of the day, laptop on her legs, on video chat.

“I have some good news.” Erin says, with a little grin, a few minutes into their chat, after they’ve gotten done talking about their respective days.

“What?” Ella lifts her left hand to her face to itch her nose.

“Oh my god, Ella.”

“What?” Ella wrinkles up her face.

“What happened to your hand?”

Ella removes her left hand from Erin’s view. “Oh.” Ella is tired and forget that she had her left hand in a wrap. “It’s nothing. I fell at practice, landed awkwardly on my hand. It will be better in a few days, I’m sure.”

“Ella Copple, why didn’t you tell me?”

Ella frowns at the use of her middle name. “It just happened today.”

Erin rolls her eyes. “No. Why didn’t you tell me right away? When we started talking.”

Ella shrugs. “I forgot.”

“BS. You didn’t forget. Ella, you gotta tell me this kind of stuff. Especially when I’m not there. You could have had your hand amputated and you wouldn’t even tell me, would you?” Erin whines.

“That’s because you overreact like you are right now.” Ella smirks. “I don’t need you worrying about I little hand sprain. It’s fine.”

“Let me decide what to worry about and not.” Erin folds her arm over her chest.

“Fine. Should we start over? Honey, I hurt my hand at practice. It will be fine. Don’t worry about it. Will be better in a week or so.” Ella pretends to start over their conversation.

“Don’t mock me.” Erin frowns.

“I’m not mocking you.” Ella folds her arms over her chest, mirroring Erin’s position.

“Just not it off.” Erin mumbles and glances away from the screen for a moment.

Ella sighs. “I’m fine, Erin. I promise. If it were something major I would have said something. I’m fine. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry, babe. How are you? Everything going well with training?” Ella changes the subject.

Erin sighs knowing she won’t be getting anything else out of Ella regarding the injury. “It’s going well. I don’t want to say too much cuz we’re trying to keep a tight lid on things around here.”

Ella rolls her eyes. “I’m not gonna tell anyone. Please?” She begs. “Tell me everything. Pretty please?”

Erin smiles. “Ella, you promise you won’t tell a soul.”

Ella brings her right hand over her heart. “Cross my heart.” She says and makes an X over her heart.

“Fine.” Erin goes into all the little details that the Canadians have been focusing on in recent weeks in training.

* * *

 

Ella is anxious to get to the hotel because her Canadians teammates are already there. Her leg bounces on the bus ride to the hotel.

“Knock it off.” Bianca tells Ella.

“Sorry.” Ella consciously stop her leg from bouncing but as soon as her mind wonders it starts up again.

“Ugh.” Bianca groans. “You’re shaking both of our seats.”

“I can’t help it. I’m just excited.”

“We know.” Melissa says from the seat behind Ella, teasing her about her excitement.

The bus pulls up outside the hotel lobby and Ella starts looking around for the Canadians and her Canadian in particular. The people at the front of the bus start to get off but Ella is towards the back wishing she would’ve chosen a seat at the front. She texted Erin when the bus left the airport and Erin texted back saying that they would be waiting in the lobby for the team. Ella sees Sessleman and Chappy come out of the lobby doors and then there is Erin. Ella tries to remain calm and casual as she gets off the bus but her heart beats at a faster than normal pace.

Erin, on the other hand, stands near the hotel entrance, out of the way, while her teammates get their bags from underneath the bus. She waits patiently, but at the same time, watches Ella’s every move. Her eyes focus on the cast on Ella’s left hand. It’s the first time she’s seen it in person. She watches Ella bend over and retrieve her bag. Erin smirks when Ella straightens up and catches her eye. They lock eyes and smile softly at one another.

“What room are you in?” Ella asks as she reaches Erin. She bumps into Erin’s shoulder with her own.

Erin laughs. “Straight to the point, eh, Masar.” Ella looks down at the ground but smiles. “The three of us are in one room for right now. I figure the coaches might want to redistribute us.”

Ella nods. “Right. I’m with B. You’ll have to check with Hiro. How was your flight?”

“Good.” Erin holds out her hand for Ella to enter the hotel before her. “How was yours?” Erin asks formally.

“Good.” Ella smiles and looks over at Erin as they walk side by side into the hotel lobby.

“What?” Erin asks as she catches Ella giving her the side eye.

“Nothing.” Ella continues to smile though, she looks at the group of teammates in front of them. “I have to go check in.”

“Okay.” Erin says, standing in her spot.

“Okay.” Ella parrots. With one last look at Erin she goes to get Bianca so they can check in.

* * *

 

After they check in, Ella follow Bianca to their room. She texts Erin with her room number as she walking. She also asks in the text what Erin’s room number is. Ella wonders briefly if Erin is going to have to change rooms or if she’ll get to stay in the room she’s in. Either way, Ella doesn’t know the room number. She unpacks a few things while she waits for a text in return.

Bianca turns on the tv after she throws her bag down next to the bed. She sits on the edge of the bed and starts flipping through the channels. It’s always the first thing she does when she gets to a hotel.

Ella goes over to the door that opens up onto the balcony and tries to wait patiently for a text from Erin. She would go out in the hall and wander around and try to find Erin but she doesn’t want anyone from the team asking what she’s doing and she doesn’t want to seem too desperate.

There’s a knock on the room door that interrupts Bianca’s channel surfing. She gets up and pulls the door open to find Erin standing on the other side.

“Hey, B.” Erin grins. “Is your roommate in?”

Bianca chuckles and opens the door so Erin can enter the hotel. “She’s on the balcony. I’m gonna run down to the lobby and check out the place. Text me when it’s safe to come back.” She pats Erin on the shoulder.

“Funny.” Erin rolls her eyes. Bianca exits and Erin proceeds to the sliding glass door that goes to the balcony. Erin can see Ella’s standing there, hands on the railing, looking out over the area.

Erin slides the door open and Ella spins around expecting to see Bianca but sees Erin instead.

“Hey you.” Erin grins.

Ella takes the two steps needed to close the distance between them. She wraps her right hand around the back of Erin’s head, pulling her face close. “Hi.” Ella whispers the second before she kisses Erin. A few soft pecks turn into a long, slow kiss as the two reconnect.

Erin’s breathing a little harder than normal following the kiss. “How come you get a balcony?” She asks.

“I’m the captain now.” Ella jokes.

Erin laughs. “Yeah you are.” Erin slips her arms around Ella’s waist, clasping them together on the small of Ella’s back. “Captain looks really good on you.” She leans in for a quick kiss.

“You don’t have a balcony?” Ella asks.

“No.” Erin shakes her head. “I heard most of the rooms are on the other side of the hall, so they don’t have a balcony. It’s just you guys and the coaches on the this side.”

Ella shrugs. “What room are you in?”

“Does it matter?” Erin asks. “I’m here.”

“I wanna know.” Ella says.

“209. Just down three and on the opposite side of the hall.” Erin tells her.

“Cool.” Ella says. All her questions answered for now. She leans into Erin’s body, resting her head on Erin’s shoulder with a content sigh. She plays with the little hairs at the back of Erin’s neck with her uninjured hand, the other rest idly at Erin’s hip. “Can we just stay like this for a few minutes?”

“Sure. But B will probably want to come back soon.”

“Where is she?” Ella asks.

“She went down to the lobby. I’m supposed to text her when we are done.”

“Done?” Ella chuckles.

“Yeah.” Erin says and kisses Ella’s forehead. “Plus, we have to get ready in a bit. We have practice at 4.”

“Will you have dinner with me?” Ella asks. She’s thinking about the rest of the day. Practice, shower, change, team dinner, and returning to hotel.

“It’s a team thing, right?” Erin asks. She knows they just can’t have dinner by themselves.

“Yeah.” Ella’s body language sinks. She was hoping that somehow they could have dinner together.

“How ‘bout I sit next to you?” Erin tries to find a compromise. When it’s a whole team event Erin and Ella try to stay as professional as possible. That includes team dinner, team outings, team bonding, travel for the most part.

“Really? We never do that.” Ella says optimistically.

“Yeah, really. I think it’s okay to make a few exceptions. Especially with me being away from the team so much.” Erin finds herself saying.

“I’d really like that. And- maybe- like after dinner- uh- we could like- hang out in my hotel room- if you want.” Ella says in her adorable awkward way, feeling like an uncomfortable teenager.

“Of course I want.” Erin gives Ella a quick peck on the lips. “Should we let B know that it’s safe to come back?”

“Safe?” Ella asks.

“Her words, not mine.” Erin shrugs.

* * *

 

The teams go out for warm ups before the game. They are still wrapping Ella’s hand when everyone leaves the locker room.

“See you and that massive club on the field Masar.” Niki yells as she leaves the locker room.

Ella sits and tries to wait patiently but her right leg bounces anxiously as the trainer is finishing up the wrap.

“You’re good to go.” The trainer says. Ella hops off of the training table. “Wear that mask.”

“It’s just warm-ups.” Ella brushes it off.

“Wear the mask. I don’t want any more injuries from you.”

“Alright.” Ella tasks her lovely face mask and heads out to the field. She puts the mask on as she makes her way out to warm up.

Ella looks around. She spots the goalkeepers warming up and then the field players. She runs over to the group. “I’m ready.”

Ella hears laughter and looks over to the person it’s coming from. Niki is doubled over, her hands on her knees, laughing hard.

“What’s so funny?”

“I think it’s the club on your hand.” Mel offers.

“No.” Niki straightens up. “No.” She points to her own face. “Both. It’s both.”

Ella frowns. “I have to wear this or I can’t be out here.”

“You look like some sort of deranged super hero or maybe an evil super hero.” Niki comments.

Ella scrunches up her face. “I think that’s called a villain.”

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter. You look ridiculous.” Niki says.

“Thanks.” Ella nods. “Thanks buddy.” She punches Niki in the arm.

“Oww.” Niki rubs her arm. “That was uncalled for.”

“So were your comments.” Ella smirks.

“Ladies.” Randy joins the group. He looks them over. “Nice of you to join us Ella. I like the mask.” That gets a laugh from her teammates. “So, who’s our captain tonight.”

Ella wishes she didn’t choose Niki after what she just said but she can’t go back on her word. “Niki.” Ella scowls.

“Okay, great. Let’s get a few drills in before warm ups are over.” Randy says and splits up the group into two.

* * *

 

Ella is on the Facetime with Erin. It’s late, as usual. She’s tired from training. “I went back to the doc today.” She says with a yawn.

“And?”

“I’m gonna have to have surgery.” Ella says nonchalantly. She knew it’s been coming. Her left hand hasn’t gotten any better recently.

Erin hangs her head. “Aww, man.”

“I have to get it fixed otherwise it’ll be fucked up the rest of my life. Plus, two hands are always more useful than one.”

Erin quirks an eyebrow. “Uh- yeah. When’s the surgery? In a couple days?”

“That’s why I brought it up.” Ella plays with her hair.

Erin brings the screen closer to her face. “You weren’t going to tell me otherwise.” She can’t believe Ella sometimes. The girl doesn’t come straight out and say things. Important things too. Ella could yap on for ten minutes about some dumb thing that happened at training that day but not even bring up a major event. She’s always burying the lead whether it’s intentional or not in this case, Erin isn’t sure.

“No. I woulda told you. It’s nothing major. You probably won’t even be here so-“ Ella shrugs.

“Ella Copple, if you are having surgery, I’ll be there. I’ll do whatever I have to do to be there. I’ll tell John it’s an emergency. If I have to take a late night or super early flight, I’ll do it. If I have to drive from Canada to Houston, I’ll do it. You bet your sweet ass I’ll be there. When is it? Tell me.” Erin gets stern. Surgery is a serious thing. And it’s always comes with risks. She’d rather be in Houston when Ella has surgery than anywhere else in the world.

Ella gives Erin a surprised look. “Oh, wow. My sweet ass, huh?”

“Yes.” Erin rolls her eyes, but smirks. “When’s the surgery?”

“It’s not scheduled yet. You have the first week of May off, right?”

“Yeah.” Erin sees where Ella is headed with this. She eases a little bit. “I’m flying in on April 30th.”

Ella pinches the bridge of her nose lightly. Her nose is healing nicely. She doesn’t have any pain anymore and all the swelling is gone. “I’ll schedule it for after the Kansas City game. It’s almost two weeks between that game and the next one. I’ll probably have to sit out of practice a week but shouldn’t miss any games if everything works out.” Ella says with a sigh. She doesn’t want to have to have surgery but knows she has to. It’s just another obstacle she has to overcome, but Ella is used to that.

“Wow. Okay.” Erin needs a little while to process all this new info. “Well, I’d like to go to your surgery appointment with you.”

“Okay.” Ella makes a mental note to make sure the appointment isn’t before Erin gets to town. Ella yawns. “Show me Mr. Maxwell before I go.”

Erin rotates the phone to show Max sleeping on the bed next to Erin’s leg. “He’s sleeping.”

“I will be too in a few minutes.” Ella says. “Hi, Max. Give him lots of hugs and kisses for me.”

Erin rotates the screen from Max back to herself. “Will do.”

“You too.”

“Me too-“ Erin pauses briefly. She was about to question Ella. “Give myself hugs and kisses?” Erin wrinkles up her nose.

“Yeah.” Ella giggles.

Erin smiles tenderly at the sentiment. “Kinda hard to do.”

“You know what I mean.” Ella waves her hand at Erin dismissively.

“That you love and you miss me and can’t wait to see me.” Erin says with a sneaky smirk.

“Yeah that. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Bye.” Ella acts like she is going to cut the chat.

“Hey, wait.” Erin says.

“Yeah?” Ella raises an eyebrow in question.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Ella shrugs. “Not that I can think of.” She says with a glint of sass in her eyes.

Erin catches it and rolls her eyes. “You’re such a shithead.”

“I can’t get nothing past you, can I? I love you, babe.” Ella says sweetly. “You and your overprotective, worrying about me self. I love your stinking face so much. Even when you call me a shithead.” Ella chuckles.

“Just my face?” Erin asks at Ella’s strange word choice.

“That’s all I can see right now.” Ella wiggles her eyebrows.

“Oh, well, I could put on a show.” Erin says sassily.

“I don’t have time for that right now.” Ella says flatly. “I’m going to bed.”

“You’re no fun.” Erin mumbles and frowns.

“Maybe tomorrow if you call me early enough.” Ella winks.

“Seriously?” Erin asks in shock.

Ella shrugs. She already has an idea for the next time they talk. “Sure.”

Erin licks her lips thinking about all of the possibilities.

Ella watches the gears turn in Erin’s mind. “Get your head out of the gutter, McLeod. I’m going to bed. Goodnight. I love you.”

“I love you, baby. Goodnight my beautiful lady.” Erin says smoothly.

Ella cuts the call with every intention of teasing the crap out of Erin on their next chat. Verbally and not so verbally.

* * *

 

“Here, you wear this one.” Ella hands a Chicago Bulls jersey over to Erin. “We can match tonight.” Ella pulls her own jersey on over her head. “Shorts? Or?”

“Shorts.” Erin says, not knowing what she’s agreeing to.

Ella smirks. “Short shorts, it is.” She knows Erin isn’t a fan of shorts that are too short. Erin rolls her eyes. “Please?” Ella pouts.

Erin rolls her eyes again and gives in. “Fine.” She mumbles. “But you owe me.”

Once they have their ‘outfits’ on Erin feels a bit silly. “I feel like one of those clowns in a tiny clown car. These are so small.” Erin tugs on the bottom of the shorts.

“You look fine, babe.” Ella tells Erin. The door buzzes. “I’ll get it.” Ella runs over and pushes the button to unlock the apartment building door to let her friends in.

“You shouldn’t do that.” Erin mentions. It’s not the first time.

“What?” Ella asks.

“Just push the button to let them in. That could be anyone that you just let in and they could come up here and murder us.” Erin reminds Ella.

“It’s just Tiff and Jess.” Ella waves Erin off.

“You should ask who it is and get a verbal confirmation before you just push the button.” Erin tells her.

“Yeah, yeah.” Ella goes and unlocks the apartment door, opening it, and leaving it open just a crack.

“You shouldn’t do that either. It’s not safe.” Erin worries.

“We’re fine. Okay.” Ella narrows her eyes at Erin. She thinks Erin is making a big deal about this. She’s brought it up more than once and Ella starts to wonder why.

Erin sighs defeated and hangs her head. “Fine. Whatever. Get murdered then. What do I care?” Erin folds her arms over her chest.

“What?” Ella is taken off guard. “Are you seriously that concerned about this?”

“Yes.” Erin nods. “I don’t want anything to happen to you when I’m not here.”

“Oh.” It strikes Ella all of a sudden and she see the root of Erin’s concern. Ella slips over in front of Erin, lifting Erin’s chin with a finger. “Your concern is valid. Your concern is adorable. And I won’t open the door anymore before checking to see who it is first. Okay.” Ella looks up into Erin’s eyes. “I love you.” She whispers softly and that gets a tiny smile from Erin. Erin nods and Ella leans up onto her toes to give Erin a gentle kiss.

Jessica pushes the door open. “Oh god, you too.” Jess teases as she interrupts Ella and Erin’s kiss. “Save it for later. When we aren’t around.”

“You’re just jealous.” Ella says and spins around to greet her friends.

Everyone laughs.

“Are you guys ready to go?” Tiffany asks.

“Almost. One of you has to take our picture first. Our outfits are on point.” Ella tells the room with a brilliant smile.

“Oh, they’re on- something.” Jess jokes.

* * *

 

The alarm goes off at an ungodly hour. Erin reaches over for her phone, shutting the alarm off. She sits up and swings her legs over the edge of the bed. Erin rubs on hand over her face before looking behind her. She reaches back and wraps her hand around Ella’s leg. “Get up, babe. You have to shower. I’ll take Max out.”

Ella mumbles an okay and Erin knows she can leave and Ella will do what needs to be done so they can go to the hospital. Erin knows this is just the start of a long day. It doesn’t feel like it was that long ago that they were doing this dance. It’s been less than nine months since Ella had her hernia surgery.

Erin takes Max out and comes back and starts coffee. She knows Ella is going to whine and complain because she can’t have any but Erin doesn’t care she’s going to need it today. She gets Max ready to go while Ella is finishing up in the shower. He’s going to spend the day with Toni while Ella has her surgery and they are at the hospital.

“I’m ready.” Ella comes out of the bathroom in sweats with wet hair. “You ready, Max?” She asks. Max looks up at Ella and she smiles. “Of course you are.”

“I’ll grab his stuff if you can grab your hospital bag.” Erin says.

“Okay.” Ella says and with that they are out the door. It just starting to get light outside as they leave. They drop Max off and head to the hospital.

* * *

 

Erin looks up from her drawing when the hospital room door swings open. She stands up when she sees that they are wheeling Ella back into the room. “How’d she do?” Erin asks.

“Great.” One of the nurses says. “I’ll let the doctor fill you in on the details.” She says. They both know that the nurses can’t say any more than that. “I’ll let the nurses down at the desk know she’s back in her room. They’ll come in and check everything out.” The two nurses wheel the bed into place and before they leave the room.

“Okay thanks.” Erin puts her notebook in her bag and goes over to the bed. She stands there staring down at Ella. This surgery was a lot quicker than the surgery for the hernias which Erin is thankful for. She eyes the machines that are checking all of Ella’s vitals and the bandage that is on her hand and wrist.

A nurse comes in with Ella’s chart in her hands. She checks the machines and all of Ella’s vitals and writes them down. “Everything looks good here. Let me know when she’s awake.”

“I will.” Erin nods.

The nurse leaves and Erin grabs a chair and pulls it up next to Ella’s bed, on the right side. She sits, keeping vigil, and waits for the anesthesia to start to wear off. Erin’s mind wanders but she never takes her eyes off of Ella.

It takes about 15 minutes but Erin starts to see some signs of life. She takes Ella’s right hand in both of hers. “Ella?” She squeezes Ella’s hand. Ella moves a few fingers and Erin takes that as a good sign.

It’s a few more minutes before Erin gets any other response from Ella. Ella’s head rolls to the left and Erin can’t see her face anymore so she stands up. “Ella?” She says again. In response, she gets a gurgled moan. “Over here.” Erin says and Ella rolls her head back to the right. Ella looks at Erin groggily. “Hey there.” Erin says and squeezes Ella’s hand.

Ella smiles and manages to squeeze Erin’s hand back.

Erin pushes the call back for the nurse to come back. The nurse shows up in about a minute and starts checking Ella’s vitals again and writes down the results. “I’ll tell the doctor you’re awake.” She tells Ella.

Ella just nods.

Erin sits down when the nurse leaves the room. She still holds onto Ella’s hand, rubbing her thumb across the soft skin. Ella tries to turn her head further to the right. “Stand up.” Ella requests. “Up. Up.” Erin makes a goofy face, wondering why the strange request. “Now lift my bed. So I can sit up better.” Ella instructs.

“So demanding.” Erin mumbles but does as she’s told.

“Pleeeease.” Ella displays a big, cheesy smile.

“Yeah. Yeah.” Erin finds the button to raise the bed up so that Ella can be sitting upright. It’s not like she wasn’t going to do it. Whatever Ella wants today, Ella gets. After she done adjusting the bed, Erin leans over the bedframe and presses a kiss to Ella’s lips.

“Ohhh. Kisses.” Ella coos.

“Kisses for my missus.” Erin smiles softly.

“We’re not married.” Ella says.

That’s not really what Erin meant but it doesn’t matter. “Not yet. But one day I’m gonna marry you, little lady.”

“Little lady?” Ella wrinkles her brow together. “Will you wear a dress?” She asks Erin and locks eyes with her.

Erin licks her lips. “I don’t wanna make any promises. But maybe.”

“Oh, come on. So maybe not some big, fluffy dress. Something simple yet beautiful.” Ella smirks. Words Erin has used in the past. “Oh, I know. We can have matching dresses.”

Erin doesn’t like the idea. “We’re not twins.”

“I am.” Ella wiggles her eyebrows and grins dopily.

“You know what I mean.” Erin sighs. She’s not sure why they are talking about this now. In the hospital. Right after Ella just got out of surgery. “No matching dresses.”

“But you’ll wear a dress?” Ella questions.

Erin thinks about it. “Dresses aren’t usually my thing. It’s not often that I wear one. I don’t remember the last time-“

“I do.” Ella cuts Erin off with a grin. “You’re sister’s wedding.”

“Oh yeah. That seems like so long ago and it was less than two months. Wow. How did you remember so quickly. I didn’t even get to finish my sentence- you cut me off.” Erin ponders the inner workings of Ella’s brain. It’s a strange brain.

“Like you said, it’s not often that you wear a dress.” Ella winks. “So I engrained it in my memory. I’ll never forget that day.”

“Wow.” Erin is impressed.

“Soooo? Yes to a dress?” Ella asks knowing that Erin will say yes.

There’s a knock on the door and the doctor comes in. “Hello, ladies. How are we doing?”

“Good.” Erin says.

Ella hums. “Okay, but I’m waiting for an answer from her.” Ella nods in Erin’s direction.

“Oh. Am I interrupting?” The doctor asks and looks at Ella’s chart.

“Not really.” Ella says. “Well?” She asks Erin for her answer.

Erin chuckles. “Sure.”

Ella does a fist pump with her right hand. “Yes.”

“Easy there, tiger.” The doctor chuckles.

“I see myself as more of a lion. Grrrr.” Ella makes a growling face for extra emphasis.

The doctor laughs and Erin shakes her head and looks down at the floor. “Well… everything looks good here. I’m just going to check your hand and wrist.” The doctor unwraps the bandage on Ella’s left hand. “It’s looking good so far. So here’s what we are going to do. You’ll get a cast before you leave today and that way you can’t do any damage while it’s healing. But, you can’t get it wet. I would suggest no showers til tomorrow. And then wrap it in plastic when you do so it doesn’t get wet.”

“Tell her. She’s in charge.” Ella points to Erin. Erin shrugs, looking from Ella to the doctor. She holds her palms to the sky. Erin has no idea what Ella is talking about.

“Uh- okay.” The doctor smiles. “You’ll have to come back in a few day. The nurses will set you up with an appointment before you leave today to see me on Monday. At that point we will take the cast off and take a look.”

“When can I play again?” Ella asks the most pressing question.

“After you see me next week.” He switches from talking to Ella and focuses in on Erin. “No exercise. No workouts. Just rest.”

Erin nods. “It’s hard to keep this one down, but I’ll make sure.” It’s all pretty much common sense stuff that the doctor is telling them.

“What about a bath?” Ella asks randomly. Erin can’t believe the things Ella is saying. She knows it’s from being under but she can’t help but think it’s a bit ridiculous.

The doctor chuckles. “That’s fine as long as the cast doesn’t get wet.”

“Anything else?” Erin asks. She wants to get the doctor out of the room before Ella says anything else embarrassing.

“Nope. That’s it. I’ll be on my way. You ladies have a fine day.” The doctor says as he exits the room, off to check in on other patients.

“A bath? Really?” Erin asks as soon as they are alone.

“If I can’t have a shower maybe I can have a bath.” Ella explains her logic.

“Or you could just wait til tomorrow.” Erin suggests.

“Or you could play nurse and give me a sponge bath.” Ella smiles, all proud of what she thought up.

“Oh my god.” Erin turns her back to Ella and walks towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Ella asks, confused.

Erin gets to the door, puts her palm on the handle, and sighs. “Nowhere.” She turns back again, and walks over to the chair next the bed and sits down. “If you want a bath, fine.”

“Sweet.” Ella holds her right hand out towards Erin.

Erin takes Ella’s hand. “What?”

“I glad that you’re here today.” Ella says with a little sniffle.

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else, baby.” Erin squeezes Ella’s hand. “I told you that. You’re the silly goose who didn’t think it was important.”

Ella bows her head. “I was wrong.”

Erin gasps. “Oh my- Did Ella Masar just admit that she was wrong?” She asks in exaggeration.

Ella chuckles. “Stop.”

Erin smiles tenderly. “I’m glad I was here today, too. Even if you can be a pain in the butt.”

“You love my butt.” Ella smirks.

Erin sighs. “I know. I do.”

There’s another knock at the door and another nurse comes in. “Ready for your cast.” She’s rolling a cart with materials on it.

“Oh boy. Do I get it pick the color or is it going to be white?” Ella asks with enthusiasm.

The nurse chuckles. “Sorry, white today. Maybe next week you can pick the color for the next cast.”

Ella wrinkles up her face. She doesn’t like the sound of that. The nurse starts working on Ella’s left hand and wrist. Erin watches intently as the nurse first takes the wrap off and the puts a new thin piece of what looks like cheese cloth over Ella’s hand and wrist. She then gets to work on the hard cast.

Ella’s stomach grumbles and everyone hears it. “Are they going to feed me?” Ella questions the nurse.

The nurse shakes her head. “No. As soon as I’m finished with this you get to go home.” She looks up from her work and smiles at Ella.

Ella nods at the nurse and then turns to Erin. “We need to stop and get burgers on the way home. I’m fucking starving.”

The nurse laughs.

“What? I haven’t eaten since last night. That’s like an eternity for me.” Ella says matter of factly.

The nurse laughs some more.

“Don’t worry. We’ll stop and get whatever you want.” Erin confirms.

Ella smirks. “Thank you, Nurse Erin.”

Erin rolls her eyes. She can’t believe this is happening. Erin glances over at the actual nurse in the room, making eye contact with her. “You don’t want to know.”

“Why?” Ella asks. “There’s nothing wrong with it. Erin, here, is going to be my nurse for the rest of the day.”

“I see.” The nurse says.

“We’re going to eat burgers. I’m going to have a bath.” Ella winks at Erin. “And then we are going to lay on the couch and watch trashy tv.”

Erin covers her face with her left hand. “Please stop talking.”

“Why, are you embarrassed? I don’t think this lovely lady cares too much.” Ella eyes the nurse. “Do you? I’m sure you see tons of embarrassing stuff every day and now it’s just normal.”

The nurse shrugs. “More or less.”

“See, babe.” Ella says. “Nothing to be embarrassed about. And you have to lay on the couch and watch tv with me. No backing out. You said whatever I want.”

“That was about food. Not- oh nevermind.” Erin gives up.

Ella raises both eyebrows. “Is that a yes?”

“Ugh, yes.” Erin groans.

“Thanks.” Ella says and pulls Erin’s hand to her mouth, kissing the back of her hand.

“You guys are hilarious.” The nurse comments.

“Thank you. See, Erin, someone appreciates my humor.” Ella sticks out of tongue at Erin.

“I never said I didn’t.” Erin sighs. “I can’t win with you today.”

Ella shrugs. “I don’t know. You get to give me a bath and cuddle on the couch with me. I’d say that’s a win.”

“Oh god.” Erin covers her face with her hand and hangs her head.

The nurse chuckles.

“Will you be the big spoon though?” Ella adds. “I mean- I know I usually am- but I thought today might be a special occasion. I don’t want to say today is all about me but- Today is all about me.”

Erin looks to the nurse. “She’s not usually like this.”

Ella narrows her eyes at Erin. “I’m sitting right here.”

“Don’t worry, dear. I’ve seen just about everything. This is fairly mild. The drugs will wear off shortly.” The nurse tells Erin.

“I hope so.” Erin mumbles.


End file.
